Poe beautifully portrays the contrast between dreams and reality in this poem. The scattered phrases "All that we see or appear is simply a dream within a dream" connect the two stanzas into a synthesis of outward and interior reality. Poe characterizes it as "a dream inside a dream," implying that neither is more real than a dream. Thus, he suggests that both dreams are equally real in the sense that they can influence our moods and emotions during waking life.