Poem

A Dream Within a Dream — Read Aloud

by Edgar Allan Poe

142

words

1:01

at 140 WPM

Easy

difficulty

speed presets

Reading time at three speeds

Slow · 110 WPM

1:17

Natural · 140 WPM

1:01

Brisk · 170 WPM

50s

How to read it

Read "A Dream Within a Dream" at a relaxed 140 WPM (~1:01). Breathe at each stanza break and let line endings carry a slight pause rather than a full stop. Slow to 110 WPM for your first pass while Telepront's voice-scroll learns your pace, then push to 170 WPM once the rhythm feels natural.

Read-aloud scriptAuto-scrolls in Telepront

Take this kiss upon the brow! And, in parting from you now, Thus much let me avow— You are not wrong, who deem That my days have been a dream; Yet if hope has flown away In a night, or in a day, In a vision, or in none, Is it therefore the less gone? All that we see or seem Is but a dream within a dream. I stand amid the roar Of a surf-tormented shore, And I hold within my hand Grains of the golden sand— How few! yet how they creep Through my fingers to the deep, While I weep—while I weep! O God! can I not grasp Them with a tighter clasp? O God! can I not save One from the pitiless wave? Is all that we see or seem But a dream within a dream?

"A Dream Within a Dream" by Edgar Allan Poe (1849). Public domain.

Practice this in Telepront

Open the text and it auto-scrolls as you speak — voice tracking follows your pace hands-free, so you can focus on delivery instead of the screen.

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Questions about this text

How long does it take to read "A Dream Within a Dream" aloud?

About 1:01 at a natural 140 WPM, 1:17 taken slowly, or 50s at a brisk 170 WPM. It is 142 words long.

Is "A Dream Within a Dream" by Edgar Allan Poe in the public domain?

Yes. Published in 1849, it is in the public domain in the United States and free to read, record, and practice with.

How do I practice reading this with a teleprompter?

Open it in Telepront and the script auto-scrolls as you speak, matching your pace hands-free so you can focus on delivery.