February 19, 2000 Essay 2: Analyzing a Poem Variation on the Word Sleep by Margret Atwood This is a poem about going into a dream. The speaker wants to sleep with a loved one and go into their dream and protect them from the subconscious fears. The speaker also wants to bring the loved one back from the dream safely and shelter that person. The speaker wants to be very important in the other person’s life. The …showed first 75 words of 970 total…

…showed last 75 words of 970 total…her love. The speaker wants to as important to the loved one as air is to life, but at the same time as unnoticed as breathing. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **Bibliography** Works Cited Atwood, Margret. “Variation on the Word Sleep.” 1981. Words in “Variation on the Word SLEEP”. Ed. Scott Galbarith. Cindy Knips. Jessy Swallow. UCLA, 20 Mar.1997. Roberts, Edgar V. and Henry E. Jacobs. Literature. 5th ed. New York: Prentice-Hall, 1998. 1027