What are the elements of poetry present in Kenneth Slessor's "Sleep"?

The theme of Kenneth Slessor’s poem “Sleep” might be intense relationships. The stark, hyperbolic tone suggests that the speaker is addressing someone that they are feverishly close to.

The diction goes along with the intimate theme and fierce tone. Slessor uses words that are definitive, dominating, and absolute. Terms like “consume” and “engulf” reflect the theme of unmitigated attachment.

The visceral imagery underscore the acute closeness. This is not a superficial intimacy. This is a deep connection in which the person the speaker addresses literally becomes a part of their body. They “beat” with their blood, listen to their heart, and witness the movement of their bones. As with the other elements of the poem, the internal imagery helps convey the poem’s attitude about this extraordinary and close relationship.

As for the structure, despite the searing intimacy, the poem maintains a tidy, even composition. The first and last stanza almost have the same amount of lines (the first stanza has one more line). Meanwhile, the middle two stanzas do have the same amount of lines: six.

It might be interesting to think about the opening stanza as the opening scene of a story. It sets up what is going to happen. The middle two stanzas provide the action. The last stanza wraps things up. The ardent, tempestuous journey is over: it’s “daylight.”

Finally, for the audience, it could be worthwhile to think about the personal nature of the poem. Perhaps Slessor wrote this poem for a particular person. Maybe that person is the “you,” and this poem is only meant for an audience of one.

How does Kenneth Slessor present sleep in his poem "Sleep"?

In his poem "Sleep," Kenneth Slessor deals with sleep on both a literal and a metaphorical level. On a literal level, sleep is illustrated by the unborn child sleeping inside its mother's womb, a "huge cave" that offers protection from a harsh, uncaring world. There, the unborn child shall "cling," "clamber," and slumber until it is finally ready to be born.

On a metaphorical level, one could say that the title of the poem refers to the sleep of death. The ending is somewhat ambiguous, but the "Pangs and betrayal of harsh birth," the very last line in the poem, could be said to refer to an abortion.

Once the "remorseless forceps" have done their grisly work, the passage from life to death is complete. The child is no longer protected by that "huge cave," that "dumb chamber" that provided a warm, comfortable haven from the outside world with all its dangers.

If indeed it is the case that the poem ends in an abortion, then we can say that the poem involves a passage from literal to metaphorical sleep, from the sleep of the unborn child inside its mother's womb, where it was safe and protected, to the sleep of death outside the womb once the fetus has been aborted.