One may get the impression that this poem is about pain and agony and troubles encountered throughout life, yet at the same time one expects a sonnet to possess the qualities of romance, adoration, and themes of love. Although this poem may appear to only deal with dark images about the difficulties of life, I don't believe that it strays away from the traditional notion of a sonnet. In essence, this sonnet is a 'love poem' addressed to sleep. Keats even uses gentle words to describe his affection for sleep, referring to it with the use of personification as a "soft embalmer" (I) with "careful fingers" (II). The images created by phrases such as "Around my bed" (VIII) and "Upon my pillow" (X) offer the impression that the speaker is thinking only of sleep while lying in his or her bed, much the same way one thinks of loved ones when alone in bed at night. Although Keats obviously cannot describe any physical attributes of sleep and doesn't illustrate it as a thing of beauty, he clearly personifies the notion of sleep as something the speaker has undeniable affection and longing for.
[...] Keats begins the sonnet by describing horrid and dark things as gentle and quiet, addressing sleep as the “soft embalmer of the still midnight” This immediate juxtaposition of images sets the stage for the sonnet to deal with concepts that may seem contrary to traditional beliefs and what we may expect from a sonnet. He goes on to describe the “careful fingers” of sleep that shut our “gloom-pleased eyes” and notes that sleep is “embowered” (III) and “Enshaded” from light. [...]
[...] Keats earlier used the words benign and divine with positive connotations in regard to sleep, and the speaker begged for his eyes to close because of all his negative feelings. Thus, in context, the words shine and woes do not match with the words they rhyme with, and they therefore ironically rhyme. Even though by definition these words logically rhyme with words like benign, divine, and close, in context they serve a meaning contrary to what we would expect of them. [...]
[...] This sonnet is consistently filled with elements of confusion and contradictions, stays true to the content of the poem because the speaker is looking for freedom and escape in the darkness of sleep, which is, as we know, a place where we have no control over our thoughts and actions and so we are trapped by unconsciousness. Keats' carefully chosen language augments the theme of unexpectedness and the existence of paradox which is prevalent throughout the sonnet, and this forces us to view the speaker as someone who is in such a difficult state of mind that all rational and irrational choices in the world have become reversed, as has everything that is bright and everything that is dark. [...]
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