A Dream
I had a dream; I thought I fenced with Death: And when he tripped me, I sent a blow with stealth, That pierced his arrantry, And set me free.
Anna M. Johnson
SourceLicence:Public domain (US, unrenewed)
I had a dream; I thought I fenced with Death: And when he tripped me, I sent a blow with stealth, That pierced his arrantry, And set me free.
A dream gives the speaker a chance to do something no one can do awake: fight Death and win. The scene is a fencing match. Death trips the speaker up, which sounds like a losing position, but the speaker answers with a sly, secret blow that lands and pierces Death's "arrantry." That word is an odd one, probably meaning something like Death's thorough, out-and-out villainy, and the choice makes Death feel less like a mysterious force and more like a swaggering opponent who can be beaten at his own game.
The final line is the payoff: the blow "set me free." Free from what isn't spelled out, though the poem suggests fear of dying, or perhaps something heavier that Death stands for. The mood is brisk and quietly triumphant. There's no solemnity here, just a short, confident burst of wish-fulfilment, with the "stealth" of the winning stroke adding a note of cheeky satisfaction.