Poetry: Kenneth Slessor -- Sleep

1. What's it all about?
2. Other resources


1. What's it all about?

Overview

As the unambiguous simplicity of the title suggests, the poem is a celebration of sleep. The poet uses the extended metaphor of the relationship between a mother and child to describe the sanctuary of sleep. The process of sleeping each night is interpreted metaphorically as a return to the womb – a state of pre-conscious existence, safe from the harsh reality of consciousness and life.

Two voices are present in the poem – one voice is the personification of slumber, as mother and lover – the other voice is only heard briefly in the first stanza.

First Stanza

“Do you give yourself to me…?”: The poem is largely in the form of a direct address, beginning with a question, contributing to a sense of immediacy in the request.
“Do you give yourself…”: suggests the willing and voluntary surrender of one’s free will.
“Body and no-body, flesh and no flesh”: body and soul, completely. Note the balanced structure of this line, and the repetition of this idea, the complete offering of one’s self, is seen in the repetition of language “no-body… no-flesh”, which introduces the concept of the non-physical world of sleep.
“no-body… no-flesh… not… no other”: the repetition of this emphasises the absoluteness of their surrender.
“blindly or bitterly, / But…”: alliteration of the ‘b’ sound is soft, echoing quiet, peacefulness of slumber.
“But as a child might…”: introduces the idea of a child and its mother, which is developed as an extended metaphor from here.
“Yes, utterly”: This simple, brief italicised response is a contrast to the previous lines, establishing a second voice in the poem and a dialogue with the poetic persona. The conciseness, submissiveness of this response, echoing the ‘utterly’ of the first line, emphasises the complete trust and unwaveringness of the response and the dominance of the request – there is no hint of doubt in their response, they are completely under the influence of the voice of sleep in the poem, almost as if it were a narcotic.

Second Stanza

“Then I shall…”: The line, “yes, utterly” marks a point of surrender in the poem, and the poetic persona then begins to elaborate on what they will do now they have given themselves over to slumber.
“bear you down to my estuary”: An estuary is a passage at the mouth of a river, where the tide and current meet. This is the passage to sleep. The repetition of watery imagery in this stanza “estuary” “ferry you” “lave” (to wash) “waves” is used to reflect waves of sleep, and in turn, highlights the gentleness of the journey toward sleep.
“I shall bear you … carry you” echoes the carrying of a child by its mother, as the poet extends the idea of sleep as similar to the journey of birth. The aquatic imagery highlights this, as a foetus floating in the amniotic fluid of the womb. The poetic persona’s taking them to a “burial mysterious” is reflective of a child in the womb, often referred to as ‘the great mystery of birth’, echoed by the sexual connotation in the accumulation of “take you… receive you… consume you” similar to the consummation of a relationship and subsequent conception. The intimacy of these sexual connotations also allude to becoming one with a lover, and there is a tenderness in the tone of this stanza. The gentle, maternal tone also suggests how completely the mother/sleep surrounds and protects the subject of the poem.
“Estuary / Carry you… ferry you… mysteriously”: note the assonance brought about by the repetition of the ‘y’ and ‘ou’ vowel sounds, and constant beat of “you” echoing a human heartbeat. This is later emphasised in the alliterative reference to “heart my heart” in the third stanza. This is also enforced by the regularity internal rhyme, such as in “cave… lave”. This impression of a beating human heart not only gives the impression of a child in a mother’s “belly”, extending the birth metaphor, but is also a reference to love and protection. The tone of the poem and the direct use of second person in directly referring to “you” is highly personal. The constant repetition of “you” is almost verifying the close relationship between the two voices in the poem.
“In the huge cave”: Not only is this a reference to pregnancy, as in the womb of the mother, this is also reference to the cave of Morpheus. In Greek mythology, Morpheus was the god dreams, who lived in a cave, and hence to be “in the arms of Morpheus” is a common reference to being asleep. (Additionally, think of the dreamlike surrounds of the character Morpheus in the film The Matrix. Out of interest, the basis for the sedative ‘morphine’ can also be traced to ‘Morpheus’). The idea of a cave is also one of refuge, a dark place hidden from the world, enhancing the sense of security and safety of sleep/mother’s womb.
“Lave you / With huger waves”: to lave is to wash, also quite tender in tone, and the reference to waves serves a duel purpose, echoing the waves of sleep, but also the waves of contractions when nearing giving birth. These the intensity of these “continually” occurring waves, akin to birth contractions, are echoed by the increasing intensity of “huge” and “huger”. This could equally refer to the process of sexual intercourse and orgasm.

Third Stanza

“cling and clamber”: A similar tone continues in this stanza, starting with an alliterative description, much like a child in the womb.
“cling… clamber… slumber” “slumber… dumb chamber” “ beat… blood’s beat” “hear my heart” “blindly in bones”: Note the repetition of soft sounds ‘l’, ‘b’ and ‘h’, give the impression of a steady heartbeat, and a rhythmical lulling sense of slumber.
“dumb chamber”: the use of ‘dumb’ here (highlighted by the repetition and internal rhyme surrounding the ‘mb’ sound) is used to emphasis the muted, quietness, silence, of the womb/sleep.
“Beat with my blood’s beat, hear my heart move”: referencing a human heartbeat, placing them clearly within the mother’s body “my flesh”, so the mother and baby dissolve into one, similar to lovers or the sleeping and the world of dreams.
“Blindly”: much like a newborn child who is yet to open its eyes and see the world. The cumulative effect of these lines highlights the impression of a foetus unconsciously hearing the life beat around them.
“Delve… dissolved… viewless valves”: the repetition of the ‘v’ sound here marks a change as the rhythm of the poem increases, as the baby grows and progresses along its foetal journey, signifying change. The “viewless valves” mark the journey towards birth, where the unconscious self is now “embodied so” – that is, the foetus has grown to a full fleshed being, with birth, and consciousness being synonymous with the cessation of sleep.
“embodied so –”: The pause at the end of this stanza represents a climax in the poem, also figuratively, representing birth, and secondarily sexual climax, and awakening.

Fourth stanza

“Till daylight, the expulsion”: the tone in the fourth stanza is sharper, contrasting with the tone of the earlier sleepiness of the previous stanzas. The use of “Till” is quiet abrupt, representing sudden pain as the baby is thrust into the world, almost ripped from their mother’s womb and sanctuary of sleep, as reflected in the violent, definitive tone of “the expulsion”. The reference to “the” expulsion, as opposed to “an” expulsion emphasises the magnitude of this act, it is given almost biblical proportions, like that of Adam and Eve’s expulsion from Eden.
“the riving and driving forth”: the sharp rhyming and repetition of the harsh ‘v’ sounds contrast with the softer alliteration and assonance of earlier stanzas, highlighting the pain and struggle of birth, and hence, life from this point onwards.
“Life with remorseless forceps”: the internal rhyme here not only contributes to the emotive tone and accelerated rhythm of this stanza, but the harshness of ‘s’ sounds connote the difficulties and unpleasantness of life, and hence, consciousness of life, as opposed to the security sanctuary of sleep.
“Pangs and betrayals of harsh birth”: Preceded by a long pause, this represents a powerful close to the poem, and echoes sentiments expressed by Irish poet W.B. Yeats, in his poem, Among School Children (see Stanza V). Closing the extended metaphor of birth, the directness the statement, and negative tone (“remorseless… pangs… betrayals… harsh”) connotes a sense of despondency and resignation to the harsh inevitability of life.