The Dream of Gerontius

Name: The Dream of Gerontius
Author: John Henry Newman

John Henry Newman (1801–1890) was an English theologian who began as an evangelical Anglican and became a leader of the Oxford Movement. In 1845 he entered the Roman Catholic Church, where he was later made a cardinal in 1879. His Apologia Pro Vita Sua (1864) defended the integrity of that journey, and The Dream of Gerontius is his best-known poem; both are in our library.

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First published: 1865
Categories: Christian Literature, Hymns & Poetry, Devotional
Length: 6k words · about 1 hour
Chapters: 7
Modernized version: In the reader: the Original, the Modernized text in present-day English, or both side by side. On average, the Modernized text keeps about 86% of the original wording.
Narration: 🎧 Volunteer Readers

About this book

John Henry Newman's poem The Dream of Gerontius, published in 1865, follows the soul of a dying man through death, judgment, and toward purgatory, attended by his guardian angel. Written in mingled verse forms and passages of great tenderness, it is Newman's most loved poem and a searching meditation on dying well and the world unseen.