How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
Come Sleep! O Sleep, the certain knot of peace,
The baiting place of wit, the balm of woe,
The poor man's wealth, the prisoner's release,
The indifferent judge between the high and low; (1-4)
The speaker reminds us twice in the first line alone that Sleep is a supernatural being and his only hope. The parade of metaphors in the ensuing lines (knot, baiting place, balm, wealth, release) only makes Sleep seem more magical or supernatural: he's real and he can also be all those things?
Quote #2
With shield of proof, shield me from out the prease
Of those fierce darts Despair at me doth throw; (5-6)
The speaker's supernatural poem becomes more and more supernatural. If before we just had Sleep, now we have Despair throwing darts, and we learn that Sleep can use a shield to protect the speaker. We admit, this sounds pretty cool—almost like a fantasy movie or something.
Quote #3
O make in me those civil wars to cease; (7)
This just gets better and better. "Civil wars" is totally a metaphor, but for a split second we imagine actual civil wars taking place inside the speaker. Hey, it's not that ridiculous when you consider that the speaker is talking to Sleep, right?