Literary Essay Sample: Ada Limon's The Noisiness of Sleep

Ada Limons poem, "The Noisiness of Sleep" espouses a lot of issues concerning visions, aspirations and dreams that people have in life concerning how their lives and their environment could change to become better. The poems persona takes the reader through a dream or a vision that he had on one night while he was taking a nap. Through this dream, the poems speaker illustrates the frustrations that people have arising from the pressure of having to deal with so many different issues that clog in ones head. Therefore, this dream was like an opportunity for him to take a ride through his brain to think of a better place and evade the frustrations of having to deal with many issues. Through the poem, Ada Limon passes a message of being visionary and having desire of making the world a better place. As such, Ada Limons poem "The Noisiness of Sleep" reveals how powerful dreams and visions can be in terms of painting a perfect picture of the world and what people desire it to be like.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

In passing across its message, the poem uses a wide range of poetic technics and figures of speech. For example, the poem uses a hopeful tone to illustrate how the world can be a better place if people made it possible. The speaker in the poem states that Well live forever, Every moon will be a moon of surrender (11-12). In these words, the speaker indicates that in a perfect world, people would be able to live forever and humans will be so powerful that they would conquer the universe including the moon and the stars in space. This also implies that there would be fewer problems, no diseases, and that there would be no death. This is a message of hope that seems to encourage readers of the poem to focus more on making the world a better place by eliminating issues that bring about death.

Also, by reading the poem, one can get to know the speaker or persona. The speaker in the poem is a disgruntled individual who has been overwhelmed with many challenges and problems that seem to hamper his productivity. Thus, there only way he feels he can have good life is through taking a nap, in the hope that he never dies through his sleep. For example he says that, Careful of what I carry, in my head and in my hollow; Ive been a long time worried, about grasping infinity, (1-4). Through these words, the speaker implies that he is worried about so many issues that he thinks about in his head as well as in his inner self. He also indicates that for a long time, he has been concerned about having a life that has no end. In another instance, he states that, Of the pins and needles, of me. Id like to take a nap, (5-6), to show the pain he was going through and his desire to find a place where he can rest and take a nap.

The poem also makes use of imagery in different instances. For example, the speaker says that, in my head and in my hollow, (2), to refer to the issues he has internally in his own soul. The word hollow has been used to imply the depth of his soul, implying that the issues and problems that he has been worried about have affected him so deeply. Also, the speaker further states that, :Of the pins and needles of me, (7) to refer to the pain that he was feeling at the time due to the problems and issues that he was frustrated about in his life. The pins and needles indicate the pain the he was going through. Another instance of imagery in the poem occurs when the speaker says that, Let me slip into your sleeve, (9). The word sleeve has been used here to refer to a comfortable place where the speaker can relax and forget about the problems he has been experiencing before.

Another important aspect in understanding the poem is through its title. The poems title, "The Noisiness of Sleep" is very relevant to the context and spirit of the poem. For example, the poem talks about taking a nap and having a dream or a vision, as the speaker say that, of the pins and needles, of me. Id like to take a nap; But not a nap thats eternal; a nap where you wake up, (7-10). Thus, the title of the poem seems to allude to the fact that the poem itself talks about sleep and what happens when one is asleep. The concept of noisiness of sleep has been used to indicate the fact that in as much as one is asleep, the noise they hear makes it difficult for them to really fall asleep. So in essence, in as much as one will be asleep, he will be kept awake by the noise that he hears. This has been illustrated in the poem through the speakers dream.in as much as he intends to take a nap and sleep to avoid feeling the pressure of his problems; he in fact doesnt fall asleep as he is taken through a vision of a better place. While the intention of noise is to disrupt someones sleep, the dream seems to disrupt the speaker from concentrating on his problems and to focus on a better and infinite world where humans will have massive power and authority.

In conclusion, Ada Limons poem, "The Noisiness of Sleep" addresses and wide range of issues that many people can relate with. The fact that the speaker of the poem had a vision of a better world, despite the problems he had encountered, which seemed to weigh him down, the vision dream he had, provides hope for the future. Therefore, the poem uses a hopeful tone to paint a picture of a perfect, better, and infinite world where humans will have the control of everything including the outer space. Besides, the poem also makes use of a wide range of stylistic devices such as imagery to pass its message across. For example, imagery has been used in many different stanzas in the poem to refer to different issues happening in the speakers life as well as in his vision. Furthermore, the poems title seems to be relevant to the poem itself as they both address the concept of sleep and disruptions one gets in their sleep.