by James Ellyard

Created on: September 24, 2009

As we all know, Mr. Shakespeare was a very clever chap, with a total of 154 sonnets to his name and a full scroll of magnificent plays. A sonnet is easily translated to mean "little song", and Sonnet 27 happens to be a little song about that often difficult stage where one tries to get to sleep. To easy sleepers Insomnia may seem like a jest, but it can become infuriating for the sufferer when the eyes constantly spring open or the mind races with anger and stress. Shakespeare somewhat dedicates the sonnet to those insomniacs after experiencing it for himself.

The first 12 lines of sonnet 27 are a continuous sentence until the full stop before the couplet, to conclude the poem. This could imply the continuous and relentless thought before trying to sleep. Insomnia is caused by worry, doubt and anxiety of what may happen, or what has happened during the day. Sleepnessness is also affected by diet or the activities before hitting the pillow. Shakespeare's problem as he writes, is the endless thoughts that have seized his mind.

Line 1 shows his eagerness to get to bed, 'weary with toil' and 'limbs with travel tired' both suggest his fatigue and give us preliminary ideas that falling asleep will be easy for him. The 'but' is the poem's turning point, where Shakespeare is, strangely, plagued by his imagination. 'A zealous pilgrimage' implies how animated his thought are, and the metaphor makes his situation clearer for the reader. Lines 1-8 are simple enough to comprehend, the final 6 lines pose more difficulty for the reader. These lines can be understood as Shakespeare's differing opinions of sleeplessness and that by through staying awake he sees the image of a lover in the darkness, which comforts him, perhaps even sending him off to sleep. The 'jewel hung in ghastly night' is perhaps a silouhette of his lover, which 'makes black night beauteous and her old face new', somewhat enhancing his first rampaging thoughts of insomnia and the night time. The rhyming couplet rounds off the sonnet in quite an ominous way, by saying simply that his body is at continuous work whether it be day or night. Shakespeare gives us a message that he works long throughout the day and his mind is now w at work by night. All he wants is peace and solitude in sleep, but escaping the stress of the day is difficult when the mind is burning with thought.

Learn more about this author, James Ellyard.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.