The Sun Rising by John Donne themes, literary devices

The Sun Rising by John Donne

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 to-morrow late tell me,
    Whether both th’ Indias of spice and mine
    Be where thou left’st 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 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 center is, these walls thy sphere.

Analysis of The Sun Rising by John Donne

The Sun Rising by John Donne is a poem of protest against the adverse impact of the sun on the lovers. One of the lovers wonder why the sun should be so unruly to the extent of piercing through their windows as well as curtains to disrupt their perfect relationship. The speaker’s displeasure is captured in the opening line of the first stanza:

Busy old fool, unruly Sun,
        Why dost thou thus,
Through windows, and through curtains, call on us?

This means that the sun defies the windows of house, the curtain and pierce onto the lover’s bed and so, the poet, only not sees the sun as unruly, it is also “saucy pedantic wretch.” This shows how far the speaker is provoked by the interference of sun.

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Though the sun has been in existence since man’s creation, it does it functions without the promptings of man . It comes and goes at the appropriate time. Similarly, its presence can pose some barriers to human activities, which means that it equally conditions the attitude or affairs of man. This has prompted the speaker to ask the question in line 4: “Must to thy motions, lovers’ season run.” This implies that the sun dictates the space or lovers.

Further, the sun is criticized for being a respecter of no person. It is up against schoolboys, apprentices judges, kings and lowest of the society. Thus:

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.

Therefore, no matter who or what or even where, the sun is less concerned. It neither cares about the season nor the climate nor the period but it cannot impede their love:

Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime,
Nor hours…………

This suggests that their love can go on irrespective of the action of the sun; propping why the sun should be reverend and strong. He boasts that he can shut off the sun with a wink of the his eyes, though it will not last.

I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink,
But that I would not lose her sight so long.

The poet remarks that nothing matters more than his love and since this sun acts for half a day, it should not be happy for a mimic of honour.