Carling's Bed Presentation

Hello everyone,

I thought I'd get the ball rolling by posting my presentation. I was inspired by historical perceptions of the bed and chose to research the common children's bedtime prayer "Now I lay me down to sleep" in use since the 18th century (I ended up finding 12 versions). In studying these poems I meditated on the idea of the bed as an unsafe place, especially for children in an age before modern medicine, or in unsafe houses (i.e. poorly ventilated, dirty). I also felt a connection between this fear of death, which was encouraged by the adults who taught these poems to children, and typical childhood fears of the dark, under the bed, or noises in the night, which are usually discouraged by parents.

These are the versions I found particularly interesting:

Now I lay me down to sleep,


I pray the Lord my soul to keep;

Should I die before I wake,


I pray the Lord my soul to take.

Now I lay me down to sleep,


I pray the Lord my soul to keep;


When in the morning light I wake,


Teach me the path of love to take.




Now I lay me down to sleep,


I pray the Lord my soul to keep,

Guide me through the starry night,


Wake me when the sun shines bright,


For Jesus' sake. Amen.




Now I lay me down to sleep,


I pray the Lord my soul to keep;


Guide us through the starry night,


and wake us with the morning's light.


I ask not for myself alone,

but for thy children--every one.