To Sleep by John Keats ( Romantic Poetry)

Short summary, themes, and critical analysis of romantic poem "To Sleep" by famous romantic poet John Keats. 

1) Title of the poem is ‘To Sleep’, written by John Keats in the year 1819. 

2) Background information of its composition: Keats had seen his mother and brother die from Tuberculosis and he himself got this disease from his brother. His fiancé Fanny Brawne broke the engagement after knowing about his disease. So, the very act of writing this poem could be taken to suggest that he was longing to escape his physical and emotional sufferings. 

3) Main theme : The main theme of ‘escapism’ is presented as the poet wants to escape the bitter reality of life. The theme of ‘impending death’ is also portrayed as Keats knows he is going to die early because of TB, he longs to pass from this painful mortal existence soon. He invokes death to come and lead him out of his sufferings. Thirdly, the theme of “sleep” is presented as he longs for the forgetfulness of sleep to take him into her embrace before death takes him. 

4) Poetic devices employed: The poem dwells within a sonnet form, obligatory fourteen lines of iambic pentameter coupled with an elaborated rhyme scheme with modifications in the sestet, closely resembling the English sonnet. Keats uses the word sleep as a metaphor which actually means to die. He interprets that to die is like to fall asleep; a state of unconsciousness. He uses a lyrical voice and personifies sleep as an embalmer with fingers capable of shutting eyes. The use of simile ‘burrowing like a mole’ and vivid imagery like gloom-pleased eyes’, ‘soft embalmer’, ‘thy poppy throws’ etc are also seen throughout the poem. 

5) Critical analysis of the text: The poet addresses ‘sleep’, one of the best pleasures a man can have in this world. It allows us to escape our own minds, when our conscience begins to prick us, keeping us awake. Sleep wraps us up in lovely delicious rest, and allows us to forget the world's sufferings. Keats experiences deep anguish which appears to be a combination of bodily pain accompanied by thoughts and memories which torment him. He wants to escape his tormented life by evoking sleep. He uses the word sleep as a metaphor which actually means to die. He feels that human beings cannot tolerate too much consciousness and need periods of ‘forgetfulness divine’, when the soul can be protected from the emotional sufferings and troubling thoughts. So, the poet longs for sleep as a liberation. 

6) What makes it someone's  favorite poem? The strong genuine emotional connection that a person feels  with this poem makes it his favorite. It evokes an emotional experience allowing someone to interact with the poet’s thoughts and feelings. This poem can also be admired for its vivid and powerful imagery within a few lines, with carefully selected words arranged artfully, creating a strong impact on people's mind. Another major reason for liking this poem is its strong ability to let us see our own reflection in poet’s feelings, as 

everyone of us goes through some difficult phases in our lives where eventually we yearn to escape this 

sorrowful life full of fret and fever.