A poem to read by touch
English ↔ Braille
A Dream Within a Dream · An uncontracted braille study edition
Braille edition: unreviewed project draft, awaiting a certified transcriber
Poe's 1849 poem in Unified English Braille (UEB), the standard for English braille, written uncontracted: one cell for every letter and mark. Press Read to watch it pass across a refreshable braille display, then learn the cells from the poem's own words and type them on a six-key braille keyboard.
The full poem as Unicode braille, with a credit line and draft status.
Refreshable display · 10 cells
STANDBYPart one / The poem
The poem, line by line
Each line of Poe's text sits beside its braille. Select a numbered line to see a study note, press ▶ to send that line to the display, or point at any cell to see its letter and dots.
| Take this kiss upon the brow! | ⠠⠞⠁⠅⠑ ⠞⠓⠊⠎ ⠅⠊⠎⠎ ⠥⠏⠕⠝ ⠞⠓⠑ ⠃⠗⠕⠺⠖ | ||
| And, in parting from you now, | ⠠⠁⠝⠙⠂ ⠊⠝ ⠏⠁⠗⠞⠊⠝⠛ ⠋⠗⠕⠍ ⠽⠕⠥ ⠝⠕⠺⠂ | ||
| Thus much let me avow — | ⠠⠞⠓⠥⠎ ⠍⠥⠉⠓ ⠇⠑⠞ ⠍⠑ ⠁⠧⠕⠺ ⠠⠤ | ||
| You are not wrong, who deem | ⠠⠽⠕⠥ ⠁⠗⠑ ⠝⠕⠞ ⠺⠗⠕⠝⠛⠂ ⠺⠓⠕ ⠙⠑⠑⠍ | ||
| That my days have been a dream; | ⠠⠞⠓⠁⠞ ⠍⠽ ⠙⠁⠽⠎ ⠓⠁⠧⠑ ⠃⠑⠑⠝ ⠁ ⠙⠗⠑⠁⠍⠆ | ||
| Yet if hope has flown away | ⠠⠽⠑⠞ ⠊⠋ ⠓⠕⠏⠑ ⠓⠁⠎ ⠋⠇⠕⠺⠝ ⠁⠺⠁⠽ | ||
| In a night, or in a day, | ⠠⠊⠝ ⠁ ⠝⠊⠛⠓⠞⠂ ⠕⠗ ⠊⠝ ⠁ ⠙⠁⠽⠂ | ||
| In a vision, or in none, | ⠠⠊⠝ ⠁ ⠧⠊⠎⠊⠕⠝⠂ ⠕⠗ ⠊⠝ ⠝⠕⠝⠑⠂ | ||
| Is it therefore the less gone? | ⠠⠊⠎ ⠊⠞ ⠞⠓⠑⠗⠑⠋⠕⠗⠑ ⠞⠓⠑ ⠇⠑⠎⠎ ⠛⠕⠝⠑⠦ | ||
| All that we see or seem | ⠠⠁⠇⠇ ⠞⠓⠁⠞ ⠺⠑ ⠎⠑⠑ ⠕⠗ ⠎⠑⠑⠍ | ||
| Is but a dream within a dream. | ⠠⠊⠎ ⠃⠥⠞ ⠁ ⠙⠗⠑⠁⠍ ⠺⠊⠞⠓⠊⠝ ⠁ ⠙⠗⠑⠁⠍⠲ | ||
| I stand amid the roar | ⠠⠊ ⠎⠞⠁⠝⠙ ⠁⠍⠊⠙ ⠞⠓⠑ ⠗⠕⠁⠗ | ||
| Of a surf-tormented shore, | ⠠⠕⠋ ⠁ ⠎⠥⠗⠋⠤⠞⠕⠗⠍⠑⠝⠞⠑⠙ ⠎⠓⠕⠗⠑⠂ | ||
| And I hold within my hand | ⠠⠁⠝⠙ ⠠⠊ ⠓⠕⠇⠙ ⠺⠊⠞⠓⠊⠝ ⠍⠽ ⠓⠁⠝⠙ | ||
| Grains of the golden sand — | ⠠⠛⠗⠁⠊⠝⠎ ⠕⠋ ⠞⠓⠑ ⠛⠕⠇⠙⠑⠝ ⠎⠁⠝⠙ ⠠⠤ | ||
| How few! yet how they creep | ⠠⠓⠕⠺ ⠋⠑⠺⠖ ⠽⠑⠞ ⠓⠕⠺ ⠞⠓⠑⠽ ⠉⠗⠑⠑⠏ | ||
| Through my fingers to the deep, | ⠠⠞⠓⠗⠕⠥⠛⠓ ⠍⠽ ⠋⠊⠝⠛⠑⠗⠎ ⠞⠕ ⠞⠓⠑ ⠙⠑⠑⠏⠂ | ||
| While I weep — while I weep! | ⠠⠺⠓⠊⠇⠑ ⠠⠊ ⠺⠑⠑⠏ ⠠⠤ ⠺⠓⠊⠇⠑ ⠠⠊ ⠺⠑⠑⠏⠖ | ||
| O God! Can I not grasp | ⠠⠕ ⠠⠛⠕⠙⠖ ⠠⠉⠁⠝ ⠠⠊ ⠝⠕⠞ ⠛⠗⠁⠎⠏ | ||
| Them with a tighter clasp? | ⠠⠞⠓⠑⠍ ⠺⠊⠞⠓ ⠁ ⠞⠊⠛⠓⠞⠑⠗ ⠉⠇⠁⠎⠏⠦ | ||
| O God! can I not save | ⠠⠕ ⠠⠛⠕⠙⠖ ⠉⠁⠝ ⠠⠊ ⠝⠕⠞ ⠎⠁⠧⠑ | ||
| One from the pitiless wave? | ⠠⠕⠝⠑ ⠋⠗⠕⠍ ⠞⠓⠑ ⠏⠊⠞⠊⠇⠑⠎⠎ ⠺⠁⠧⠑⠦ | ||
| Is all that we see or seem | ⠠⠊⠎ ⠁⠇⠇ ⠞⠓⠁⠞ ⠺⠑ ⠎⠑⠑ ⠕⠗ ⠎⠑⠑⠍ | ||
| But a dream within a dream? | ⠠⠃⠥⠞ ⠁ ⠙⠗⠑⠁⠍ ⠺⠊⠞⠓⠊⠝ ⠁ ⠙⠗⠑⠁⠍⠦ |
Part two / Learn with the poem
From touching to understanding.
Braille letters come in rows of ten that build on each other, so learning the first ten unlocks the rest. Select a cell to send it to the display.
Learn the cells
Six dots, one cell
Each cell has two columns of three dots, numbered 1-2-3 down the left and 4-5-6 down the right. That gives 63 patterns with at least one dot raised.
Capitals and marks
Braille has no separate capital shapes. Dot 6 (⠠) before a letter makes it a capital. Punctuation takes its own cells, many in the lower part of the cell, like the comma ⠂ and full stop ⠲.
Contracted braille
Most adult readers use contracted (Grade 2) braille, where common words and letter groups take fewer cells: ⠮ for the, ⠯ and, ⠾ with, ⠷ of. A contracted edition of the poem needs a certified transcriber.
Read and write
Transcribe anything
Type English to get uncontracted braille, or paste Unicode braille to read it back.
Type it yourself
A braille writer has six keys, one for each dot, pressed together as a chord. Hold F D S for dots 1 2 3 and J K L for dots 4 5 6, then let go to write the cell. The space bar adds a space. On a phone, tap the dot keys, then Write cell. Try the first word: ⠠⠞⠁⠅⠑
Practice in either direction
Build a small vocabulary
How to practice
- Read the cells and say the word before you reveal it.
- Find the word in the poem above and send its line to the display.
- Switch direction and write the word on the six-key keyboard.
- Say each cell's dot numbers aloud: d is 1-4-5.
These are study prompts for sighted learners. Braille is read by touch; an embossed copy is the real test.
Read by touch
Embossed and read aloud
An embossed copy.
No reviewed embossed edition is available yet. A certified transcriber's contracted and uncontracted files (BRF) would let readers emboss the poem or load it on their own display.
Prepare a transcription →A braille reader's voice.
A recording of the poem read from braille, with the reader's credit, would sit beside the text here.
Prepare a reading →Add your voice
Contribute to the poem.
Braille transcriptions in any code or language, from contracted UEB to Moon type, are reviewed for accuracy and permissions, and credit is kept.