Robert Lowell – Night Sweat

• About the Author

• Poem Context

• A Range of Activities

• Analysis of Language

• Line by Line Questions

• Line by Line Interpretation

• Essay Questions
Who is Robert Lowell?

• Wrote innovative and experimental poetry.

• His subjects were wide-ranging and epic: the
Greek myths, the American Revolution.
• Fire is a recurring motif, along with themes like
good and evil or friendship and death.
• Most remarkable, though, is the fact that for
decades, on and off, Lowell suffered from
extreme bipolar disorder.
• In 1949 he had his first full-blown manic attack in
Chicago, where he supposedly dangled a friend
out the window while shouting poetry.
What is Bipolar Disorder?

Task 1: Watch the following video, making notes as

you go, and be ready to share your notes with the
class afterwards.

https://www.webmd.com/bipolar-disorder/bipolar-
20/video-bipolar-my-life
Who was Robert Lowell‘s wife, Elizabeth
Hardwick?

• A formidably intelligent woman. Co-founder

of the New York Review of Books in 1964.
• She stood by Lowell through some very hard
times.
• Soon after meeting Hardwick, Lowell
experienced a violently psychotic phase and
had electric shock treatment in hospital.
• She is mentioned in the poem, Night Sweat.
• Lowell was serially unfaithful to his wife.
• Lowell and Hardwick divorced in 1972.
The poem we are about to read ends with the
following six lines:
my wife...your lightness alters everything,
and tears the black web from the spider's sack,
as your heart hops and flutters like a hare.
Poor turtle, tortoise, if I cannot clear
the surface of these troubled waters here,
absolve me, help me, Dear Heart, as you bear
this world's dead weight and cycle on your back.

Task 2: Drama Task 3: Discussion

Get into pairs. One In your pairs, discuss these questions and be ready to feedback your ideas:
of you is Lowell
and one of you is a. Write down all the words that are used to describe Hardwick.
Hardwick. Lowell‘s, b. What do you think the troubled waters are?
read these six lines c. What do you think the black web and spider‘s sack are?
to your wife. d. What is the effect of the simile in line three?
Switch roles and e. What could the dead weight on her back be?
repeat. f. How does Lowell feel about Hardwick, and how do you know?
 What is the poem about?
The writer, Lowell, has writer‘s block. It is ironic that Lowell is writing about
this theme. He is confused and scared about his own state of mind, and is
unsure whether or not he will ever get his writing talent back. In the poem, he
is tired and nervous. He wakes covered in sweat caused by his “Life‘s Fever.”
 The Poem, Night Sweat by Robert Lowell
Work-table, litter, books and standing lamp, Behind me! You! Again I feel the light
plain things, my stalled equipment, the old broom— lighten my leaded eyelids, while the gray
but I am living in a tidied room, skulled horses whinny for the soot of night.
for ten nights now I've felt the creeping damp I dabble in the dapple of the day,
float over my pajamas' wilted white... a heap of wet clothes, seamy, shivering,
Sweet salt embalms me and my head is wet, I see my flesh and bedding washed with light,
everything streams and tells me this is right; my child exploding into dynamite,
my life's fever is soaking in night sweat— my wife...your lightness alters everything,
one life, one writing! But the downward glide and tears the black web from the spider's sack,
and bias of existing wrings us dry— as your heart hops and flutters like a hare.
always inside me is the child who died, Poor turtle, tortoise, if I cannot clear
always inside me is his will to die— the surface of these troubled waters here,
one universe, one body...in this urn absolve me, help me, Dear Heart, as you bear
the animal night sweats of the spirit burn. this world's dead weight and cycle on your back.

Task 4: Shared reading

Let‘s read the poem twice, all the way through, without interruption.
Think as we read: what is the central message?
 Task 5: Annotation Questions

• Annotate the poem in as much detail as

possible, being sure to make your notes
clear.

• Use the 21 questions on the following 2

slides to help prompt your thinking and
discussion.
 Part 1 1. In your opinion, why does he describe
his writing equipment as plain things?
2. Stalled equipment could be a metaphor for
_______________________________________.

Work-table, litter, books and standing lamp, 3. What is the effect of personification here?
plain things, my stalled equipment, the old broom—
but I am living in a tidied room,
for ten nights now I've felt the creeping damp
float over my pajamas' wilted white...
Sweet salt embalms me and my head is wet, 4. Which words are an example of imagey, and how to they
everything streams and tells me this is right; bring the poem to life?
my life's fever is soaking in night sweat—
one life, one writing! But the downward glide
and bias of existing wrings us dry— 5. What do you think his life‘s fever is?
always inside me is the child who died,
always inside me is his will to die—
one universe, one body...in this urn 6. What do you think he means by the downward glide?
the animal night sweats of the spirit burn.
7. What does he mean by a child inside him dying?
8. What emotions is he going through, 9. Explain the mood/atmosphere of the final line.
do you think?
Extension 10. Summarise the first part of the poem in exactly 25 words. Be creative!
 11. What is the effect of the
Part 2 exclamations here?
12. How is the concept of light presented
ambiguously in these first couple of lines?

13. What is the effect of the alliterative L sounds?

Behind me! You! Again I feel the light
lighten my leaded eyelids, while the gray 14. What are the skulled horses a metaphor for, in
skulled horses whinny for the soot of night. your opinion?
I dabble in the dapple of the day,
a heap of wet clothes, seamy, shivering,
I see my flesh and bedding washed with light,
my child exploding into dynamite, 15. His inner child is either decimated, or brought back to
my wife...your lightness alters everything, life. Which do you think is true? What makes you think this?
and tears the black web from the spider's sack,
as your heart hops and flutters like a hare. 16. How does he feel about his wife, and
Poor turtle, tortoise, if I cannot clear what makes you think this?
the surface of these troubled waters here,
absolve me, help me, Dear Heart, as you bear
17. What do you think the black web and the
this world's dead weight and cycle on your back.
spider sack represent?

20. How is the relationship portrayed here?

19. What tone is created here?

Extension 21. Summarise the second part of the poem in exactly 25 words. Be creative!
 Part 1 As a writer, these are his only tools,
alongside his mind.
Stalled equipment is a metaphor for his inability to
write or generate ideas.

Stream of consciousness mirrored through the

use of enjambment throughout.
Work-table, litter, books and standing lamp,
plain things, my stalled equipment, the old broom— One thought interrupts another as he realises
but I am living in a tidied room, that he has the support of his wife. Conflict
for ten nights now I've felt the creeping damp between hope and despair.
float over my pajamas' wilted white...
Sweet salt embalms me and my head is wet, Use of metaphor to describe the anxiety that is
everything streams and tells me this is right; dampening his spirits. The sweat is personified.
my life's fever is soaking in night sweat—
Use of the verb wilting implies a dying flower – he is no
one life, one writing! But the downward glide
longer blossoming. The verb embalm suggests death.
and bias of existing wrings us dry—
always inside me is the child who died, Personification of his bipolar disorder. Sibilance reflects the
always inside me is his will to die— running water of his sweat. Visceral imagery.
one universe, one body...in this urn
the animal night sweats of the spirit burn. The bias of existing implies despair, as if suffering is inevitable.

Youthful energy has not only faded, but died. Time is wringing him
dry of his creativity, and his sanity.
We live alone within ourselves, feeling
as though already ashes when Aggressive depition of the depleting energy being burned like fuel until empty.
mentally unwell.
 His wife enters the room and he feels her
Part 2 supportive presence. Exclamations reveal
Soft alliterative repetition of the L sounds create a
serene tone which contrasts to the first half of the
her significance to him. poem.

Imagery of weight in his leaded eyelids, reflecting

Behind me! You! Again I feel the light the heaviness of his depression.
lighten my leaded eyelids, while the gray
skulled horses whinny for the soot of night. Striking metaphor of horses pulling his attention
I dabble in the dapple of the day, back to despair. Imagery of death throughout line.
a heap of wet clothes, seamy, shivering,
Light breaks through the trees as Hardwick‘s presence
I see my flesh and bedding washed with light,
is felt. Lots of imagery in this part of the poem.
my child exploding into dynamite,
my wife...your lightness alters everything, Suddenly his bipolar disorder reasserts itself but this time he
and tears the black web from the spider's sack, finds inspiration, like a bomb going off in his mind.
as your heart hops and flutters like a hare.
Poor turtle, tortoise, if I cannot clear His love of his wife is revealed. She is presented as a holy, god-
the surface of these troubled waters here, like character.
absolve me, help me, Dear Heart, as you bear
She has the power to remove the darkness. Perhaps the spider‘s
this world's dead weight and cycle on your back.
sack includes his suppressed ideas.

She carries his suffering on her back too.

He begs for her help and comfort.

Essay Questions
1. How does Lowell use imagery in his 1964 poem Night Sweat to
express his experience of bipolar disorder?

2. How does Lowell use figurative language in his 1964 poem Night
Sweat to explore the speaker’s inner conflict?

3. How does Lowell use contrast in his 1964 poem Night Sweat to portray
his relationship with Elizabeth Hardwick?