I'm Going to Sleep

Similar to “Sorrow,” “I’m Going to Sleep” uses nature imagery, has a somber tone, and discusses a man. The poem seems to be a farewell poem, discussing death. The natural imagery of the line, “make the sheets of the earth ready for me,” seems to represent a burial with “the sheets of the earth” representing a grave. The imagery of the light represents the poet’s life. By having the nurse turn the light down a little, her life is nearing an end. The last stanza discusses a man. The line, “tell him I have gone…” reiterates her coming death, as she is asking the nurse to tell the man that she is gone, or dead.