Summons
By Robert Francis
Keep me from going to sleep too soon
Or if I go to sleep too soon
Come wake me up. Come any hour
Of night. Come whistling up the road.
Stomp on the porch. Bang on the door.
Make me get out of bed and come
And let you in and light a light.
Tell me the northern lights are on
And make me look. Or tell me clouds
Are doing something to the moonThey never did before, and show me.
See that I see. Talk to me till
I’m half as wide awake as you
And start to dress wondering why
I ever went to bed at all.
Tell me the walking is superb.
Not only tell me but persuade me.
You know I’m not too hard persuaded.
Summary of Summons
- Popularity of “Summons”: The poem ‘Summons’ was written by Robert Francis. It is a wonderful poetry and also known as an implicit monologue. The poem first appeared in his first collection in the decade of the 60s. Through its charming innocence, the poem beautifully captures the poet’s desire to be awakened in unique and mysterious ways. The monologue’s poetic uniqueness lies in the speaker’s simple yearning to be convinced to rise in the morning.
- “Summons” As a Representative of Innocence: The poet longs to have someone who could stop him from sleeping or wake him up after he goes to sleep. The desire to wake up is interconnected with various other simple desires, all of which are innocent in nature. The poet takes us through a series of detailed steps, explaining how he desires to be awakened – with someone whistling for him on the road and lighting a lamp to indicate the arrival of morning. However, the interesting point comes at the end of the poem as he longs to talk to someone or that someone should talk to him, that it is morning and that he should get up. The argument being made is that it should be possible for someone to successfully persuade him, as it is not a difficult task to do so. Therefore, the major point of the poem is that he should be persuaded to get up early in the morning or going to the bed early in the evening.
- Major Themes in “Summons”: Innocence, love, and power of persuasion are three major thematic strands of the poem. The poet opens the poem displaying his innocence, calling somebody to stop him from sleeping or coming to wake him up in the morning. Although he suggests several strategies, all of them show that he loves somebody and wants to be coddled so that he could also feel this love. There is no one to persuade him to get up. He wants someone to convince him by suggesting various things like nature or conversation.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Summons
literary devices are literary techniques that the poets used to make their poetic pieces appealing. The analysis of these devices in the poem is given below.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /oo/ and /ee/ in “Keep me from going to sleep too soon” and the sound of /e/ in “And make me look. Or tell me clouds”.
- Alliteration: It is the use of successive consonant sounds in the initials of the successive words, such as /w/ in “wondering why”.
- Anaphora: The poem shows the use of anaphora as the repetition of “Come…” and “Tell me…” as both occur in the end of each phrase of verse.
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /m/ in “Come wake me up. Come any hour”.
- Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example,
See that I see. Talk to me till
I’m half as wide awake as you
And start to dress wondering why
I ever went to bed at all.
- Epistrophe: The poem shows the use of epistrophe that is the repetition of a phrase in the end of successive clauses or sentences such as “sleep too soon”.
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. The poem shows the use of imagery such as “I’m half as wide awake as you”, “Tell me the walking is superb” and “Stomp on the porch. Bang on the door”.
- Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poem shows the use of metaphors such as the clouds have been compared to lovers.
- Personification: The poet has shown the clouds as if they have life and emotions of their own.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from literal meanings. The poem shows the use of the symbols of whistle, banging, door, bed, lights, and moon.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in Summons
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Free Verse: The poem does not follow any rhyme scheme. Therefore, it is a free verse poem.
- Repetition: The poem shows the use of repetition of “sleep too soon” and “Come” to show the stress of getting up early.
Quotes to be Used
These lines from “Summons” are relevant to use when talking about the importance of workouts and walking in life.
Tell me the walking is superb.
Not only tell me but persuade me.
You know I’m not too hard persuaded.