Sleeping Sir Sidney

Philip Sidney is the poet this week. A 16th Century poet, who died at the age of 31 after being injured from a battle shot (we do like to know the in-depth torments of the poet, don't we). At least his is not a tale of suicide, as is so common amongst the greatest poets.

To dive into the poem this week, I would like to introduce why I chose it. The simple answer is insomnia. I do not suffer from it clinically, more in the metaphorical sense, as one might say they feel 'depressed' without meaning they have the mental illness. I sleep much more than many people do and so I am grateful, but I do spend many nocturnal hours tossing and turning, with my head buzzing with thoughts that will not stop. Thus, the poem immediately grasped my attention with its imperative phrase: 'Come, Sleep!'.

Come, Sleep! O Sleep, the certain knot of peace,
The baiting-place of wit, the balm of woe,
The poor man's wealth, the prisoner's release,
Th' indifferent judge between the high and low;
With shield of proof shield me from out the press
Of those fierce darts Despair at me doth throw!
O make in me those civil wars to cease!—
I will good tribute pay if thou do so.
Take thou of me smooth pillows, sweetest bed,
A chamber deaf of noise and blind of light,
A rosy garland, and a weary head;
And if these things, as being thine in right,
Move not thy heavy grace, thou shalt in me,
Livelier than elsewhere, Stella's image see.

To contradict my introduction immediately, I would like to conjecture that this poem could be interpreted as a wish for the eternal 'sleep', 'death'. The capitalisation of the noun 'sleep' not only personifies it but also gives it greater significance, which is what led me to theorise about the matter. The whole poem can be read either way, which I find comforting. After all, Sidney may have specifically not wanted to draw comparisons with death as it is such a common metaphor, but it would be impossible to escape the implications due to this very fact.

I like the Marxist comment, that even the poor can have sleep and also prize it as the rich prize 'wealth' - the basics of human nature dictate that the elite classes only get more sleep than the commoners because they do not have to wake in order to work.

The metaphor of 'civil wars' is poignant; the mind wars with itself over purpose (sleeping) and function (thinking), perhaps as the poet himself did while fighting. The note about 'tribute' to me makes most sense when applied to death, i.e. that he will serve in the afterlife. But perhaps the tribute to sleep is this precise poem. Or perhaps he is giving to sleep his 'pillows' and 'bed', which to me represents the modern-day insomniac advice, that one should not use the bed for anything but sleeping. So the narrator will not read in his bed or write in his bed, but sanctify it in a way to 'Sleep'.

The final line on 'Stella' image' refers to the two lovers, Astrophil and Stella. I say lovers but Stella did not really return the feeling. This poem is part of a sequence of sonnets relating to the couple, and so the narrator is Astrophil ,when read in context. He, therefore, is saying that if sleep will not come to him, he will sit awake all night thinking about his love, Stella. The word means 'star' (Latin) and so out of context, read with the perspective that sleep is death, perhaps the narrator is saying that if death won't come, he will defiantly think of all the good and light in life. Loose interpretation, but it is there to me nonetheless. 

I might just read this the next time I feel my mind is too active...I wonder if any of you have other methods of coping with sleeplessness?