# Sleep Now, O Sleep Now explained — Poetry

> Chapter companion for Poetry by James Joyce.

## What happens

A voice calls for the unquiet heart to sleep, as winter's cry at the door shifts from urging sleep to denying it. A kiss promises peace and quiet, urging the heart to rest.

## Themes in this chapter

### Mortality and Sleep

The entire poem centers on sleep as a metaphor for death, with winter's cry and a kiss promising eternal peace.

### Nature and Mood

Winter's voice at the door sets a somber, cold mood that mirrors the heart's unrest and the call to sleep.

## Character check-ins

### Narrator

The speaker whose heart is addressed and who offers a kiss for peace.

### Love

Implied as the source of the voice crying 'Sleep now' and the kiss that brings peace.

### Death

Associated with winter's cry and the final sleep invoked in the poem.

## Key lines

> Sleep now, O sleep now, O you unquiet heart!

Rest now, restless heart, and find peace.

_Opening command to the troubled heart to find rest._

> The voice of the winter Is heard at the door. O sleep, for the winter Is crying 'Sleep no more.'

Winter's voice at the door first urges sleep, then declares that sleep is over.

_Winter's contradictory cry signals the end of rest and the approach of death._

> My kiss will give peace now And quiet to your heart— Sleep on in peace now, O you unquiet heart!

My kiss will bring you peace and stillness, so rest peacefully now, troubled heart.

_A kiss offers final comfort and eternal sleep to the restless heart._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_11_se/chapters/xxxiv-sleep-now-o-sleep-now
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_11_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/poetry_11_se/chapters