Hallucinations of eggs

Last Night I Dreamed of Chickens
by Jack Prelutsky

Last night I dreamed of chickens,
there were chickens everywhere,
they were standing on my stomach,
they were nesting in my hair,
they were pecking at my pillow,
they were hopping on my head,
they were ruffling up their feathers
as they raced about my bed.

They were on the chairs and tables,
they were on the chandeliers,
they were roosting in the corners,
they were clucking in my ears,
there were chickens, chickens, chickens
for as far as I could see...
when I woke today, I noticed
there were eggs on top of me.

2. This poem attracted me because of it playfulness. It's a happy poem, goofy, with interesting ideas. It begins frantic and startling with chickens and he doesn't know where they came from or why they were there. The chickens then seem to flood his mind, infecting his every thought until he's in a sea of poultry and he suddenly wakes up. The eggs that he finds question the reality of the chickens and suggest that the narrator might not be completely sane. Melding his dream world with his real world, the narrator's confusion and possible hallucinations illustrate a troubled man, lost in his obsessive delusions.

3. The title of this poem gives a preview of the main subject of the poem, dreaming of chickens. It also previews of the question of how much of the chickens is a dream, how much is reality, and how much is a hallucination.

4. One strategy the poet uses is to repeat "they were" at the beginning of almost every line. This speeds up the reading and makes the experience of the poem frantic. He also links some of his words using alliteration: "standing-stomach," "pecking-pillow," "hopping-head" It helps the lines to flow more smoothly and bouncy. He uses an ABCBDEFE rhyme pattern that also brings it together nicely. His list of "chickens, chickens, chickens" demonstrates the craziness that he's experiencing. The eggs at the end imply that more chickens will come, probably by the next night. This symbolizes that the narrator's insanity will never end, and the chickens will haunt him forever.

5. The tone begins happily and it's excitedly informative. Soon though, when the chickens keep coming, it becomes more a tone of panic. "Chickens" is a hard word with the plosive "ck" sound, as well as "clucking," and these words, when they're repeated more, cause an uneasy feeling. Initially, the image of the chickens is playful and goofy, but then they get overwhelming and scary.