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It is a poem centred on a man suffering at the hands of a terrible illness, and reflects on the HIV/AIDS pandemic during a time when the illness was relatively new and untreatable. However, the disease is not explicitly mentioned in the poem. 'The Man with Night Sweats' breakdown. Lines 1–4. “I wake up cold, I who.
- Summary
- Themes
- Structure and Form
- Literary Devices
- Analysis, Stanza by Stanza
- Similar Poetry
In the first lines of ‘The Man with Night Sweats,’ the speaker begins by describing waking up in the middle of the night soaked in sweat and knowing that he has to get up and change the sheets. He does so but then pauses, trying to comfort himself for a few moments before the pain moves through his body again.Without stating it explicitly, the spea...
In ‘The Man with Night Sweats’ the poet exposes themes of illness, death, and solitude. In this piece, the first-person speaker provides the reader with an intimate look into a few moments in their life while they suffer from AIDS. Their solitude and illness penetrate through each line of the poem as the speaker attempts to comfort himself and figh...
‘The Man with Night Sweats’ by Thom Gunn is an eight-stanza poem that is separated into stanzas of either two lines, known as couplets, or four lines, known as quatrains. The couplets and quatrains follow a simple rhyme scheme of ABAB CC that remains consistent throughout the poem.The very structured rhyme scheme provides an interesting contrastwit...
Gunn makes use of several literary devices in ‘The Man with Night Sweats.’ These include but are not limited to enjambment, caesurae, and allusion. The latter is one of the most important literary devices in ‘The Man with Night Sweats.’ Although it does not say so, the poet alludes through context clues to the fact that his main character, the firs...
Stanza One
In the first stanza of the poem, the speaker begins by utilizing his first-person perceptive in order to tell the reader that he “woke up cold.” This is immediately juxtaposedagainst the “dreams of heat” that he’d been involved in. Although he doesn’t elaborate on what exactly this means, he does explain that he was sweating. He notes the residue of that sweat, making the sheet cling to his body. It’s also clear in these first lines that this is not the only time this has happened to this man...
Stanza Two
The second stanza is a couplet, meaning that it’s only two lines long. In the past, his flesh “was its own shield.” When he was cut, he was “healed.” Readers should take note of the fact that the speaker says “was” in these lines. This is not the case now, or at least that’s not how the speaker considers his body nowadays. With his illness, this has all changed.
Stanza Three
The third stanza of the poem looks back farther into the past. He used to use his body to explore. He trusted it and “adored” while taking risks. This made an incredible impact on his life. He was freed in his intimacy, as was the case for many gay men in the 1960s and 70s. This speaker trusted his body and took “risks.” This likely alludes to the fact that he did not practice safe sex. Readers should also take note of the use of alliterationin the last line with “risk” and “robust.”
Readers who enjoyed ‘The Man with Night Sweats’ should also consider reading ‘Soon’ by Vikram Seth, ‘Hymn to God, My God, in My Sickness’ by John Donne, and ‘Rest’ by Jane Huffman. The latter, ‘Rest,’ is a moving poem about sickness and main, specifically lung disease. The speaker describes the pain she carries around with her on a daily basis. ‘Hy...
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- October 9, 1995
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The Man with Night Sweats. By Thom Gunn. I wake up cold, I who. Prospered through dreams of heat. Wake to their residue, Sweat, and a clinging sheet. My flesh was its own shield: Where it was gashed, it healed. I grew as I explored.
Apr 5, 2023 · An interactive and editable powerpoint, giving line-by-line analysis of all the poetic and technical features of the poem. An in-depth worksheet with a focus on explaining how Thom used rhyme in this poem. A fun crossword quiz, perfect for a starter activity, revision or a recap – now with answers provided separately.
Feb 23, 2024 · The title of the poem, “The Man with Night Sweats,” alludes to a medical condition associated with illnesses like HIV/AIDS. This allusion adds a layer of complexity and suggests deeper underlying themes related to illness, mortality, and the impact of disease on the human body. I wake up cold, I whoAProspered through dreams of heat B Wake ...
Oct 8, 2023 · Willopix | Canva. 'The Man With Night Sweats' Analysis. 'The Man With Night Sweats' is a short rhyming poem that focuses on the plight of one person, a gay man, who has developed night sweats, a symptom of the killer disease AIDS. Taken from the book of the same name, published in 1992, the poem is one of 17 elegies written by Gunn as a result ...
Often acclaimed as his masterpiece, The Man with Night Sweats reflects on the HIV/AIDS epidemic (at a time when the disease was effectively untreatable) and elegizes its victims, including a number of the poet's loved ones. This title poem, a dramatic monologue, takes the perspective of a man suffering from night sweats as a result of acute HIV ...
