True, I talk of dreams,Which are the children of an idle brain,Begot of nothing but vain fantasy,Which is as thin of substance as the air,And more inconstant than the wind, who woos Even now the frozen bosom of the north,And, being anger'd, puffs away from thence,Turning his side to the dew-dropping south.
In these lines from "Romeo and Juliet," the speaker reflects on dreams as creations of an unproductive mind, suggesting that they are merely figments of imagination born from idle thoughts. Dreams possess no real substance and are as fragile and changeable as the air, illustrating their ephemeral nature. This notion emphasizes how fleeting and insubstantial our fantasies can be, often driven by our desires rather than reality.
The comparison of dreams to the unpredictable nature of the wind further highlights their instability. Just as the wind can swiftly change direction and abandon one place for another, dreams can also shift from one whim to the next. Shakespeare deepens the exploration of dreams by contrasting the coldness of the north with the warmth of the south, symbolizing how quickly one's hopes and aspirations can vanish. This perspective creates a poignant reflection on the uncertainty of human desires and the often illusory quality of our ambitions.
