ABSTRACT
The ghost of Patroclus that came to Achilles in his sleep is said to be the starting point in European literature for the apparition of the dead in dreams. Before leaving the role of dreams in literature one should add a word as to the crop of fairy tales in the nineteenth century, all of which are based on the time honored conventional dream-form. De Quincey established himself as one of the great masters of style, and it is said that certain ambitious young hacks thought to rival his success by taking laudanum and bringing on dreams of their own, but without notable success. It is only fair to say that Coleridge and de Quincey are hardly examples of normal dream inspiration because of the drug that enchained them both, but it is interesting to note what it did to their imaginations in sleep.
