What are the themes in "The Slaves Dream"?

When you answer this question, you must remember that
theme is the broad message or moral of a piece of literature.  Think about the big idea
of the text.  Try to infer what the author wants the reader to think about or
learn.

Longfellow’s poem is a statement about
slavery and freedom.  In the
first and last stanza, you learn that the subject of the poem is a dying slave.  He is
“in the mist of shadow and sleep” and he doesn’t “feel the driver’s whip”. What the
slave does feel is his homeland, liberation and triumph while he is in a dream-like
state during the process of dying. He is remembering his homeland, his life before
slavery, his wife, his children and his horse. This makes the dying slave feel free
within his soul.  Longfellow’s poem reminds us that the one place where all humans can
remain free is within their mind. This is a universal theme and it can be found within
many other pieces of literature.