In many poems the traditional image of the
unrequited lover is of one who is languishing, suffering, and growing weak because the lady he adores does not return his love. One of the biggest problems facing the traditional unrequited lover is insomnia (the inability to sleep). Such lovers, of course, are always thinking about their fair ladies; and this causes them to toss and turn all night long.
In "Sonnet 39" Sidney addresses the issue of insomnia.
Just as he addressed the Moon in "Sonnet 31," Sidney also begins this poem with an apostrophe. In this case, the speaker, Astrophil, is addressing Sleep. However, it might be more appropriate to say that Astrophil is addressing Morpheus, the Roman God of Sleep (who appears in Ovid's Metamorphoses). Astrophil is languishing. He is weak and tired, but he cannot get Stella out of his mind. So, he prays to Sleep, or Morpheus, to help him get the rest he needs so much.
The first quatrain shares a quality found in Old
English poetry: synonyms. In the first four lines Astrophil list six alternative ways to refer to Sleep:
In his sleep, in his dreams, a poor man is equal to a rich man. In his dreams he can be just as wealthy or just as successful. A prisoner who is locked in a cold, dark dungeon or jail can find release in his dreams. He can dream of being free. He can dream of being out in the open.
Thus, Astrophil suggests the benefits of sleep. In a way, he is also paying his respect to Sleep just as a nobleman might pay respect to a king by addressing him with his other titles. Astrophil is, after all, speaking to a god and asking that god for help.
In the second quatrain, Astrophil raises a frightening image. Despair is personified as a fierce warrior throwing darts or arrows of despair or gloom at Astrophil. In a way, Despair is a sort of counterpart to Cupid. Just as Cupid shoots his arrows to induce love, Despair throws his darts to induce gloom or depression. Ironically, for Astrophil the cause of his love and the cause of his despair are the same: Stella. So, Astrophil asks Sleep for a shield to protect him from the large number (the "prease" or press) of darts being thrown at him.
Also in the second quatrain, Astrophil describes his emotional conflict as a "civil war." A civil war is an internal struggle in a single nation -- the people of that nation fight against each other. For example, in the American Civil War, the people of the northern states fought against the people of the southern states. In Astrophil's case, he is fighting against himself. He wants to sleep, but he cannot. We might also see the civil war as the war between Astrophil's reason and his emotion. In either case, it is an internal conflict, taking place within his own troubled mind.
After a war, a custom of long ago was for the loser to pay tribute (money and possibly other items as well) to the victor. In the poem Astrophil already sees himself as the loser in his personal civil war and offers to pay tribute to the God of Sleep. Astrophil offers not money, but objects associated with sleeping:
Instead of being viewed as a tribute, these items could also be viewed as sacrifices. During ancient times, and continuing into the Classical Age and the Middle Ages, people would often sacrifice (kill and burn) animals to their gods in order to please them. They believed that the gods up in the heavens could smell the smoke and would then repay the people by giving them good fortune or luck. Astrophil also hopes to please the god Sleep by symbolically sacrificing the above mentioned items.
Astrophil ends his sonnet by saying that if Sleep is not pleased with his gifts and if, therefore, Sleep does not extend his "grace" (his kindness and help) to Astrophil, then Sleep will see the image or appearance of Stella in Astrophil himself. To say this another way, if Astrophil cannot get any sleep, he will be thinking about Stella so much that it will almost be like he is turning into Stella himself. He is so obsessed with Stella that his own identity is disappearing.