The Dream Songs by John Berryman is an anthology of 385 poems consistent in two books. The poems circle around the fate of the character Henry, who has been described by the author as a self-loathing man who slips in and out of depression. Although Berryman remarks that the character is based on his own life, he refuses to call the misfortunes and depressing episodes autobiographical. As with most poetic work, the Dream Songs reflects the author’s moods and it is a peculiar way to deal with emotions. Throughout the poetic misadventures of the two books Berryman writes eulogies into the mouth and mind of his main characters, referencing poet friends that have passed. Next to the overarching theme of depression, things like trouble with women, how Berryman dealt with fame and various travels he took, find their place among the verses.
A good example of the above mentioned themes can be found in the poem Dream Song 14, which deals with boredom. In this part of the composition, Henry is sick of life and sick of friends, sick of the world and most of all sick of himself. The heavy depression described in the lines gives the reader a feeling of the heaviness of the characters, and in transition, the author’s life. It has to be mentioned that Berryman himself said that the journey he sends Henry on is intentionally cruel and unforgiving. A journey no human could ever survive, in an emotional sense. He referenced Tolstoy and his character Anna Karenina as an inspiration.
The poetic work of Berryman received many accolades during his time, due to the unconventional and highly sophisticated style of this anthology. The poems cycle between simpleness and heavy hearted complexity, with an uncommon syntax. These grammatical marvels can be seen as yet another reference to the ever-changing mind of the depressed character, who switches between dark confusion and simple clarity in his sad life. Berryman’s work can easily count as one of the main US contribution to poetry of the 1960s, reflecting the life of the author and the overall situation of the world.
