This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
Addison Rizer is a writer and reader of anything that can be described as weird, sad, or scary. She has an MA in Professional Writing and a BA in English. She writes for Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and is always looking for more ways to gush about the books she loves. Find her published work or contact her on her website or at addisonrizer at gmaildotcom.
Addison Rizer is a writer and reader of anything that can be described as weird, sad, or scary. She has an MA in Professional Writing and a BA in English. She writes for Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and is always looking for more ways to gush about the books she loves. Find her published work or contact her on her website or at addisonrizer at gmaildotcom.
Addison Rizer is a writer and reader of anything that can be described as weird, sad, or scary. She has an MA in Professional Writing and a BA in English. She writes for Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and is always looking for more ways to gush about the books she loves. Find her published work or contact her on her website or at addisonrizer at gmaildotcom.
Addison Rizer is a writer and reader of anything that can be described as weird, sad, or scary. She has an MA in Professional Writing and a BA in English. She writes for Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and is always looking for more ways to gush about the books she loves. Find her published work or contact her on her website or at addisonrizer at gmaildotcom.
Addison Rizer is a writer and reader of anything that can be described as weird, sad, or scary. She has an MA in Professional Writing and a BA in English. She writes for Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and is always looking for more ways to gush about the books she loves. Find her published work or contact her on her website or at addisonrizer at gmaildotcom.
Addison Rizer is a writer and reader of anything that can be described as weird, sad, or scary. She has an MA in Professional Writing and a BA in English. She writes for Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and is always looking for more ways to gush about the books she loves. Find her published work or contact her on her website or at addisonrizer at gmaildotcom.
Addison Rizer is a writer and reader of anything that can be described as weird, sad, or scary. She has an MA in Professional Writing and a BA in English. She writes for Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and is always looking for more ways to gush about the books she loves. Find her published work or contact her on her website or at addisonrizer at gmaildotcom.
Addison Rizer is a writer and reader of anything that can be described as weird, sad, or scary. She has an MA in Professional Writing and a BA in English. She writes for Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and is always looking for more ways to gush about the books she loves. Find her published work or contact her on her website or at addisonrizer at gmaildotcom.
Addison Rizer is a writer and reader of anything that can be described as weird, sad, or scary. She has an MA in Professional Writing and a BA in English. She writes for Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and is always looking for more ways to gush about the books she loves. Find her published work or contact her on her website or at addisonrizer at gmaildotcom.
Addison Rizer is a writer and reader of anything that can be described as weird, sad, or scary. She has an MA in Professional Writing and a BA in English. She writes for Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and is always looking for more ways to gush about the books she loves. Find her published work or contact her on her website or at addisonrizer at gmaildotcom.
Addison Rizer is a writer and reader of anything that can be described as weird, sad, or scary. She has an MA in Professional Writing and a BA in English. She writes for Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and is always looking for more ways to gush about the books she loves. Find her published work or contact her on her website or at addisonrizer at gmaildotcom.
Addison Rizer is a writer and reader of anything that can be described as weird, sad, or scary. She has an MA in Professional Writing and a BA in English. She writes for Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and is always looking for more ways to gush about the books she loves. Find her published work or contact her on her website or at addisonrizer at gmaildotcom.
Addison Rizer is a writer and reader of anything that can be described as weird, sad, or scary. She has an MA in Professional Writing and a BA in English. She writes for Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and is always looking for more ways to gush about the books she loves. Find her published work or contact her on her website or at addisonrizer at gmaildotcom.
Addison Rizer is a writer and reader of anything that can be described as weird, sad, or scary. She has an MA in Professional Writing and a BA in English. She writes for Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and is always looking for more ways to gush about the books she loves. Find her published work or contact her on her website or at addisonrizer at gmaildotcom.
Addison Rizer is a writer and reader of anything that can be described as weird, sad, or scary. She has an MA in Professional Writing and a BA in English. She writes for Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and is always looking for more ways to gush about the books she loves. Find her published work or contact her on her website or at addisonrizer at gmaildotcom.
Addison Rizer is a writer and reader of anything that can be described as weird, sad, or scary. She has an MA in Professional Writing and a BA in English. She writes for Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and is always looking for more ways to gush about the books she loves. Find her published work or contact her on her website or at addisonrizer at gmaildotcom.
Addison Rizer is a writer and reader of anything that can be described as weird, sad, or scary. She has an MA in Professional Writing and a BA in English. She writes for Book Riot and Publishers Weekly and is always looking for more ways to gush about the books she loves. Find her published work or contact her on her website or at addisonrizer at gmaildotcom.
We’ve all been at the losing end of the “it was all a dream” trope before. You’re an hour and a half into an action-packed rampage of a movie, or you’re 300 pages into a thrilling, reality-breaking novel, then you get to the end, and…the main character wakes up. Life is back to normal. In fact, it never wasn’t normal. The character’s dream made up the whole story, and now their eyes are open, and all of that action and magic is gone.
Ah, the “it was all a dream” trope. A classic. A classic that many, many people seem to seriously dislike — maybe for good reason. But where did the trope come from?
Origins of the “It Was All a Dream” Trope
The origin of this trope is difficult to pinpoint as each source points elsewhere. One theory is that the trope stems from the 1600s during the popularity of the Baroque style when the idea of a “false dream” appeared in Edmund Spenser’s “The Faerie Queene,” a poem published in 1590, and the play Life is a Dream by Pedro Calderon de la Baraca, published in 1636. In the latter, the “dream” trope is different than what we think of today, but it demonstrates a playing with the idea of dreams and reality clashing after a prince goes on a rampage and is convinced his actions were all a dream once he wakes up.
TV Tropes and Tropedia, however, both point to Virgil’s The Aeneid, which makes reference to “false dreams” that come through the ivory gate Aeneas chooses to go through to exit the underworld. According to them, this suggests the subsequent scenes in the narrative are all dreams rather than reality.
“One of horn, whereby the true shades pass with ease, The other all white ivory agleam, Without a flaw and yet false dreams are sent, Through this one by the ghosts of the upper world.”
A Brief History of the “It Was All a Dream” Trope
Wherever the trope originally came from, it became more popular in the 1800s and 1900s. Here are some examples of the trope during that time period.
In a short story called “Tom Bard’s Dream” by Reverend J.A. Davis, published in The Christian Treasury from 1880, a man is barred from Heaven because he “lived for himself in the world” and “trusted in riches.” Tom laments, “Have I not only wasted my life to get money but lost my soul? Lost heaven to get rich!” He then wakes and realizes it was all a dream, deciding to donate his riches to the poor in order to save his soul before falling back asleep.
This is a fairly common use of the trope in this time period, using the dream world of a character to teach them a lesson they then carry into their reality.
In 1891, Chamber’s Journalpublished the story “Dumareq’s Daughter” by Grant Allen, in which a character named Sir Austen repeatedly dreams of a body in the desert. As he continues to wake and fall into the dream, he comes to the realization that he killed them for their money. When he finally wakes up, he is relieved to find it was just a dream after all, “Thank Heaven, thank Heaven, it was all a dream! He wasn’t a criminal! He wasn’t a murderer!”
Then, in O. Henry’s “The Roads We Take,” published in 1910, a robber named Shark Dobson executes a heist on a train with his partner in crime. After events cause his partner’s horse to die, Shark decides to shoot his partner and run away with the money because his own horse couldn’t handle the weight of both men. He then wakes up in his office a Wall Street broker, and realizes it was all a dream.
In A Dream Lesson, a play by Josepha Marie Murray from 1916, two little girls express their dissatisfaction with their lives to their mother. They both then dream of a rich little girl and a poor little girl, visited by Contentment, who teaches them to be happy with their lives as they are. One of the girls exclaims, “I’m never going to complain again,” after waking from the dream lesson.
And, of course, a look at the trope wouldn’t be complete without a mention of the most popular examples. First, of course, you’ve got Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll, published in 1865, and then The Wizard of Oz, released in 1939, both stories ending with their young protagonists experiencing fantastical worlds before waking up back in reality.
Outrage at the “It Was All a Dream” Trope
In modern audiences, this trope is met with quite a bit of vitriol, with many readers and audience members declaring it the “worst trope/cliche” and writing advice articles about advocating against using the trope by any means.
To many, the erasure of everything that happened in the story by the revelation it was all a dream is lazy and lacks commitment. The writer, to them, couldn’t figure out how to make the story work without the cop-out of it being a dream world the whole time. The character’s life doesn’t change, but what they dreamt stays with them.
For others, this aspect is what they love. In a dream world, anything can happen without spending too much time explaining the logistics. The character experiences big internal change without their external lives changing at all. It’s Scrooge waking up on Christmas morning, a wholly new man with only one night having passed. It’s a coming of age in the span of eight hours. It lets whimsy and magic have its place without bringing it into the real world.
Regardless of how you feel about the “it was all a dream” trope, I hope some of this was interesting to you. If you’re curious about the origins of other tropes, check out the “the butler did it” trope and then dig into the “bury your gays” trope.
We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie
Duration
Description
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
11 months
The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance
11 months
This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy
11 months
The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
