A dream vision, or visio, is a literary device in which a dream or vision is recounted as having revealed some piece of knowledge or truth that was not available to the dreamer or visionary in an ordinary waking state.
Facts
Place of OriginEarly medieval Europe; visionary literature as a genre flourished suddenly and is especially characteristic of this period, later reemerging in the Romantic era. 1 Notable ExampleThe Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri 1 Defining TraitPresents a dream or visionary experience as the narrative frame through which knowledge or truth otherwise unavailable to the waking dreamer is revealed. 1 Sources
1. Dream Vision (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia Foundation (Wikipedia)Lead paragraph
A dream vision or visio is a literary device in which a dream or vision is recounted as having revealed knowledge or a truth that is not available to the dreamer or visionary in a normal waking state.
Visions in medieval European literature section
The peak of the medieval vision genre is considered to be Dante's "Divine Comedy", which can be called a detailed vision, based on its narrative and compositional features.
Lead paragraph, second sentence
While dreams occur frequently throughout the history of literature, visionary literature as a genre began to flourish suddenly, and is especially characteristic of early medieval Europe.
View the Source Frequently Asked Questions
Which work is considered the peak of the medieval vision genre?
Dante's Divine Comedy.
Dante's Divine Comedy is considered the peak of the medieval vision genre. It can be called a detailed vision because of its narrative and compositional features, and it belongs to the early medieval European tradition in which visionary literature began to flourish.
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