The Sun Rising Poem
By John DonneToggle annotations
Busy old fool, unruly sun,
Why dost thou thus,
Through windows, and through curtains call on us?
Must to thy motions lovers’ seasons run?
Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide
Late school boys and sour prentices,
Go tell court huntsmen that the king will ride,
Call country ants to harvest offices,
Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime,
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.
Thy beams, so reverend and strong
Why shouldst thou think?
I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink,
But that I would not lose her sight so long;
If her eyes have not blinded thine,
Look, and tomorrow late, tell me,
Whether both th’ Indias of spice and mine
Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with me.
Ask for those kings whom thou saw’st yesterday,
And thou shalt hear, All here in one bed lay.
She’s all states, and all princes, I,
Nothing else is.
Princes do but play us; compared to this,
All honor’s mimic, all wealth alchemy.
Thou, sun, art half as happy as we,
In that the world’s contracted thus.
Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be
To warm the world, that’s done in warming us.
Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere;
This bed thy center is, these walls, thy sphere.
The Sunne Rising Line by Line Explanation
- Busy old fool, unruly sun,
- Why dost thou thus,
- Through windows, and through curtains call on us?
- Must to thy motions lovers’ seasons run?
- Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide
- Late schoolboys, and sour prentices,
- Go tell court-huntsmen that the king will ride,
- Call country ants to harvest offices;
- Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime,
- Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.
EXPLANATION
“The Sun Rising” is a complex poem in which the first line personifies the sun. The sun has disturbed the lovers of the poem by naturally encroaching into his bedroom.
The word “us” indicates that the speaker is not alone because he is with his beloved. The speaker is saying: Get out of my life! Love is not under your control.
The insult continues. We can picture the lovers being rudely awakened by strong rays and swearing, begging it to go elsewhere. He calls the sun a ‘saucy pedantic wretch’ and tells him to go off to regulate the affairs of those who must obey him – school boys who are late for school, sturdy workers who have to swear to get up early for work; the king’s huntsmen and farmers who must rise for the hard tasks of harvest. But love, which is ever constant, is not affected either by change of seasons, climate or by hours, days and months which are the subdivisions of time.
- “Why shouldn’t thou think?”
- I could eclipse and cloud the sun with a wink,
- But that I would not lose her sight so long;
- If her eyes have not blinded thine, look,
- And tomorrow late, tell me
- Whether both the Indias of spice and mine
- Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with me.
- Ask for those kings whom thou saw’st yesterday,
- And thou shalt hear: “All here in one bed lay.”
EXPLANATION
The speaker tries to belittle the sun. He says that it has no reason to think itself a great strong one: The lover could eclipse the sun by just winking, but he would not do so because he would be losing the sight of his lady love for that long, which he never wants.
Then the speaker tries to convince the sun about the beauty and worth of his lady lying on the bed. The sun, during its rotation round the Earth, visits many kingdoms, kings, and the East and West Indies, courting such as spices and gold. But tomorrow, when the sun will light up the lovers’ bedroom, and the lover asks the sun (if it did that, a bit later, allowing their love-making a longer span), it would find a great treasure lying on the lover’s bed. He says that all the wealth of all such countries it visits today is nothing compared to his beloved.
- She is all states, and all princes, I,
- Nothing else is.
- Princes do but play us; compared to this,
- All honour’s mimic, all wealth alchemy.
- Thou, sun, art half as happy as we,
- In that the world’s contracted thus;
- Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be
- To warm the world, that’s done in warming us.
- Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere;
- This bed thy centre is, these walls, thy sphere.
EXPLANATION
The beloved is everything to the speaker. Nothing else exists for him. All rank and status is unimportant compared to them. But their love is their wealth. The riches of the world are a counterfeit, especially the gold made by alchemy.
The speaker is now sympathetic to the sun, the aged sun, and suggests how to perform its duties without exerting much. The sun rotates round the earth to keep the world warm.
Now, the entire world is found in the lovers’ room—the two lovers, a bed, and a room. The speaker suggests the sun’s center of rotation be the bed, and its path of rotation (its sphere) be the four walls of the room. If the sun warms the lovers, its duty of warming the whole world would be performed.
Form and Rhyme Scheme
- Form: Metaphysical Love Poem / Aubade
- Stanzas: 3
- Lines: 30
- Rhyme Scheme: ABBACDCDEE in each stanza
- Meter: Irregular, characteristic of Donne’s conversational style.
Tone and Mood
Tone:
- Playful
- Witty
- Defiant
- Passionate
Mood:
- Romantic
- Joyful
- Celebratory
- Intimate
The speaker begins with irritation toward the sun but gradually becomes confident and triumphant as he praises the power of love.
Why is The Sun Rising a Metaphysical Poem?
The poem contains the key features of Metaphysical poetry:
- Intellectual argumentation
- Unusual comparisons (conceits)
- Wit and paradox
- Blending of emotion and logic
- Conversational language
- Philosophical treatment of love
These characteristics make it one of the finest examples of Metaphysical poetry in English literature.
The Sunne Rising Major Themes
1. The Supremacy of Love
The poem celebrates love as the most powerful force in existence. The lovers consider themselves more important than kings, wealth, or even the sun itself.
2. Love Transcends Time
According to the speaker, love is not governed by “hours, days, months.” True love exists beyond ordinary measurements of time.
3. Microcosm of the World
The lovers’ bedroom becomes a symbol of the entire universe. Donne suggests that genuine love creates its own complete world.
4. Power and Authority
The speaker challenges the authority of the sun, kings, and political power, claiming that love is superior to all earthly authority.
The Sunne Rising Literary Devices
Metaphysical Conceit
Donne uses an elaborate comparison between the lovers’ bed and the entire universe.
Personification
The sun is treated as a human being who can be scolded, questioned, and commanded.
Hyperbole
The speaker exaggerates the importance of his love by claiming that all kingdoms and riches exist in his bed.
Apostrophe
The poem directly addresses the sun, an absent/non-human entity.
Paradox
The lovers are physically confined to a room, yet they contain the whole world.
FAQs on The Sun Rising by John Donne
1. Who wrote The Sun Rising?
The Sun Rising was written by John Donne, one of the leading poets of the Metaphysical school of poetry.
2. What type of poem is The Sun Rising?
It is a Metaphysical love poem and an aubade, a poem that deals with lovers at dawn.
3. When was The Sun Rising published?
The poem was first published in 1633 in a collection of Donne’s poems.
4. Why does the speaker call the sun a “busy old fool”?
The speaker is annoyed because the sun interrupts his time with his beloved and attempts to impose the schedule of the outside world on their love.
5. What is the central theme of The Sun Rising?
The central theme is the supremacy of love over time, nature, wealth, and political power.
6. What does the sun symbolize in the poem?
The sun symbolizes time, authority, routine, and the external world that intrudes upon the lovers’ private happiness.
7. What is a metaphysical conceit in The Sun Rising?
The major conceit is the comparison of the lovers and their bedroom to the entire universe, suggesting that their love contains everything of value.
8. What literary device is used when the speaker addresses the sun directly?
The device is apostrophe, where the speaker directly addresses a non-human entity.
9. What does the line “She is all states, and all princes, I” mean?
The speaker suggests that his beloved represents all kingdoms, while he represents all rulers, making their love greater than worldly power.
10. How many stanzas are there in The Sun Rising?
The poem consists of three stanzas, each containing ten lines.
11. What is the rhyme scheme of The Sun Rising?
The rhyme scheme of each stanza is ABBACDCDEE.
12. How does the speaker’s attitude toward the sun change?
The speaker begins by criticizing the sun but eventually claims that the sun’s proper role is to serve the lovers by shining on them.
13. Why is The Sun Rising considered a Metaphysical poem?
It contains wit, paradox, intellectual arguments, elaborate conceits, and imaginative comparisons, all hallmarks of Metaphysical poetry.
14. What is the tone of the poem?
The tone is playful, witty, confident, passionate, and defiant.
15. What is the main message of The Sun Rising?
The poem conveys that true love creates its own world and is more powerful than time, nature, wealth, and political authority.