A great reformer of English Verse, Samuel Daniel (1562-1619), writes his most notable collection “Delia” in the sixteenth century. The compilation was first published in 1592. Concerning this section, Delia’s first collecting sonnet was “Care-charmer Sleep, son of the sable Night”. In this poem, the poet longs for their embrace, and suggests the deeply dark nature of his mood. It also asserts that we have a connection with death and suffering. The theses pretended such as, “Misery, despair, desolation, anguish and depression.” In essence, the core concept revolves that “Delia” was extolled by sixteenth century’s English poet Edmund Spenser.
Daniel’s critical sonnet, “Care-Charmer Sleep, Son of the Sable Night” contains fourteen lines. It has also followed Shakespearean sonnet style with Iambic Pentameter. On the other hand, the rhyme-scheme is ABAB CDCD EFEF GG. In the rhyme pattern, there are three quatrains before a climatic final couplet. This sonnet is made of three quatrains. The first two sentences are about the conflict which he sets up his problems. On the other hand, the last two lines are representing and solve it.
Daniel’s accumulation was dedicated to the right honourable woman, Ladie Mary, Countesse of Pembroke. The poem, “Care-Charmer Sleep, Son of The Sable Night”, was written in the Elizabethan era. Which was started with a, “soothingness, comfort and tranquility”. In the first line, “Care-Charmer Sleep, Son of The Sable Night”, conveys a “personification” which expounds human qualities and characteristics. It grants the abstract concepts of sleep and night. Moreover, he also addresses sleep as a “Care-Charmer” and “son of the sable Night,” using an alliteration.
At the beginning of second to the end of the third line, it articulates a sense of longing, suffering and a request. The narrator expresses, “Relieve my languish, and restore the light”. In this context, the term “Languish” implies a state of weariness, sorrow or unhappiness. The also seeks to bring back the happiness to his life. On the other hand, it also expresses, “self-satisfaction and self-confidence.”
In this line, “with dark forgetting of my cares”, the oxymoronic plea and contrast clearly demonstrates his internal battle between light and dark, ecstasy and depression. The poet expresses his hyperbolic level of despair, and he wants to save worries and reflection for the daylight hours. In this sense, the term “Morne” is a variant spelling of the verb to mourn and the abbreviated poetic form of morning. In the seventh line, the term “shipwreck” can stand as a metaphor for his life. This sonnet was written in the Renaissance period which could have influenced him to think about her as something to “conquer” and “possess” which he is incidentally unable to accomplish. The ninth and tenth lines, “Cease dreams, th’ imagery of our day-desires, to model forth the passions of the morrow”, expresses a desire for his dreams to as a kind of prophetic or revelatory force.
In the thirteenth line, “Still let me sleep, embracing clouds in vain”, the poet implies his slumber is like “embracing clouds in vain” which is insubstantial or unreal. In the last line, The definitive “never wake” shows he truly desires to be embraced by death, and this progression throughout the poem aggrandises the extent of his suffering, linking his misery to death, and amplifying his love for Delia. Throughout the poem, Daniel personifies Sleep, and portraying it as a gentle and compassionate figure. Sleep is described as having the ability to “allay all rage” and “quench all cares” as it wraps its soothing influence around the troubled mind. The poem uses the night as a symbol of darkness and tranquility. The poem personifies sleep, treating it as a benevolent and compassionate figure. In the last step, Sleep is imagined as being able to provide some sort of magical release from the pain of life.
To conclude, Daniel’s poem, “Care-Charmer Sleep, Son of the Sable Night” expresses sleep and death are seen as soothing forces that can shut out or erase the troubles of worldly existence. Regarding the segment, It also makes Sleep god-like in its powers. Sleep is described as a source of rejuvenation and the bringer of “fresh thoughts and joyous health.” On the other hand, the lover’s sleeplessness is a conventional Petrarchan theme which is thus further complicated by this parallel. Ultimately, there is further suggestion in his description of his situation as a “shipwreck”, which would be the Sixteenth Century equivalent of a “car-crash relationship”.
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