Sleep or Die
Like the speaker in Keats's Sonnet to Sleep, we all have bouts with our
conscience. Unfortunately for the speaker, his conscience is causing him to suffer from
a terrible case of insomnia. He finds that not only does his conscience never sleep, but if
he cannot subdue his conscience he will not sleep either. So, as our speaker struggles
with guilt, he finds himself unable to sleep and is so desperate for rest that he sees death
as a viable alternative.
Exhausted, our speaker in the sonnet's octet, prays for sleep to bless him with its
Like the speaker in Keats's Sonnet to Sleep, we all have bouts with our
conscience. Unfortunately for the speaker, his conscience is causing him to suffer from
a terrible case of insomnia. He finds that not only does his conscience never sleep, but if
he cannot subdue his conscience he will not sleep either. So, as our speaker struggles
with guilt, he finds himself unable to sleep and is so desperate for rest that he sees death
as a viable alternative.
Exhausted, our speaker in the sonnet's octet, prays for sleep to bless him with its