77 Dream Songs, John Berryman

     Berryman, in regards to Henry, the protagonist of the Dream Songs, said, "Henry is accused of being me, and I am accused of being Henry, and I deny it, and no one believes me." I'm not alone in thinking, that's a crock of shit. Right off the grill, Henry's hot with Berryman's flavors: in Dream Song 1, the "departure" spoken of is almost undoubtedly Berryman's father's suicide. Bear in mind when reading these poems that Henry and Berryman, if not the same person, are part of the same pantheon.

     Also, another aside to the reader before he or she reads the poems: there is another character, unnamed, who accompanies Henry throughout the text. This character employs the diction of a minstrel, is made up in blackface, and is pretty damn offensive. He serves as the counterbalance to Henry, who is more often than not in a bad state of mind. We are asked to imagine this character is the "end man" in a minstrel production. Thus, he and Henry are to be seen as if on stage: Henry stage right, and this other character stage left. The curtain is pulled, so that we focus on the two of them talking.

     A final note to the reader: these poems at first may seem schizophrenic. Berryman uses all kinds of pronouns to refer to the characters in his poems--a single person may be referred to as "them." Also, standard, uniform diction has been thrown through the window: Berryman mixes high and low diction throughout these poems. Do not be put off by this--it definitely grows on you as you read on. Berryman's playfulness with language in 77 Dream Songs is contagious. You may even find yourself imitating him in your own writing.

     I found it helpful to hear Berryman himself read the poems. He is an excellent orator, and quite the character. Undoubtedly a drunk, Berryman wrote 77 Dream Songs to be off-balance. The dream is the world experienced as if inebriated. The song is the drunk lips singing karaoke.

     We must then take the challenge Berryman himself posed to us when he said facetiously, "These songs are not meant to be understood, you understand. They are only meant to terrify & comfort."