Like Claire, I also really enjoyed Sonnet 39 from Astrophil and Stella this week. For me, the poem was really interesting because of its parallels to a book that I read last year called Why We Sleep by Matthew Walker. This book’s discussion of sleep research was absolutely fascinating. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in sleep science, or needs some motivation for prioritizing sleep! In the book, Walker discusses the many benefits of sleep, the history of sleep, and the science behind the different stages and types of sleep. I found it fascinating while reading Sonnet 39 that Sir Philip Sidney mentions many of the same benefits, given that “sleep science” was far from a studied field when he wrote this poem. This really speaks to how fundamental sleep is in the human experience, and what it can do for a person emotionally and physically. Even without studying the science of sleep, we all know what it feels like to not get a good night of sleep. Sidney uses a metaphor to compare sleep to the “balm of woe” (line 2), calling it a healing oil for sorrow. Walker discusses how sleep is a critical period for emotion processing, and we can certainly imagine that a good night of sleep might have helped Sidney process his intense emotions. In the last few lines of the poem, Sidney writes “thou shalt in me, / Livelier than elsewhere, Stella’s image see” (lines 13-14). This idea of seeing Stella’s image and seeing it so clearly in his dreams also matches up with what science tells us. When we dream, we are able to process the events and emotions we feel throughout the day and we are able to awake with a clearer picture of those events. Walker talks about musicians who struggle playing a piece, and then awake from sleep suddenly being able to play the piece with no trouble. Sidney’s personification of sleep as “Th’indifferent judge between high and low” (line 4) and someone he will pay tribute to in order to achieve peace is similar to how some people view god. This highlights the intense power of sleep that Sidney felt, and his belief in it.