Sonnet 39 By: Sir Phillip Sydney

A Little About the Author

Born on November 30, 1554, died 1586 Named after his Godfather, King Philip II of Spain. Recognized courtier and poet. Great nephew of Robert Dudley, a guy who had a romance with Elizabeth I when she was younger. He was engaged to a woman named Penelope Devereux for several years, yet they were never married. Instead she married Lord Rich in 1581, the same year that he wrote Sonnet 39.

Sonnet 39 is just one of a series of poems in the “Astrophel and Stella” collection written for Penelope. Astrophel is symbolic of Sydney himself. In his poems Astrophel always lets his emotions get the best of him. “Astr” means star, while “phil” means lover. Stella can be symbolic to a few things, but the most accepted idea is that it is Penelope.

Sonnet 39 1 place for refreshment 2 intelligence 3 crowd 4 gift or offering Come Sleep. O Sleep, the certain knot of peace, The baiting place1 of wit2 , the balm of woe, The poor man's wealth, the prisoner's release, The Indifferent judge between the high and low; With shield of proof, shield me from out the prease3 Of those fierce darts Despair at me doth throw: O make in me those civil wars to cease; I will good tribute4 pay, if thou do so. Take thou of me smooth pillows, sweetest bed, A chamber deaf to noise and blind to light, A rosy garland and a weary head: And if these things, as being thine by right, Move not thy heavy grace, thou shalt in me, Livelier than elsewhere, Stella's image see.

Interpretation Sydney is desperate for sleep He believes it is the remedy for pain and sorrow Poor man's wealth – He gets relief from hunger and suffering. (high and low)- Sleep comes to the rich and the poor (civil war in me)- his inner conflict between his heart and his head. He then offers sleep a tribute of smooth pillows, bed, a quiet and dark room, roses bound in a garland, and his tired mind... And then he tries another approach to convince sleep he claims that if it lets him sleep, then they can both see images of Stella in his dream. The irony is that he wants sleep to rid him of the suffering he feels about Stella, yet he knows he will dream about her.

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