, “THE SUN RISING”
1 Busy old fool, unruly sun,
2 Why dost thou thus,
3Through windows, and through curtains call on us?
4Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run?
5 Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide
6 Late school boys and sour prentices,
7 Go tell court huntsmen that the king will ride,
8 Call country ants to harvest offices,
9Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime,
10Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.
11 Thy beams, so reverend and strong
12 Why shouldst thou think?
13I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink,
14But that I would not lose her sight so long;
15 If her eyes have not blinded thine,
16 Look, and tomorrow late, tell me,
17 Whether both th' Indias of spice and mine
18 Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with me.
19Ask for those kings whom thou saw'st yesterday,
20And thou shalt hear, All here in one bed lay.
21 She's all states, and all princes, I,
22 Nothing else is.
23Princes do but play us; compared to this,
24All honor's mimic, all wealth alchemy.
25 Thou, sun, art half as happy as we,
26 In that the world's contracted thus.
27 Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be
28 To warm the world, that's done in warming us.
29Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere;
30This bed thy center is, these walls, thy sphere.
, INTRODUCTION
"The Sun Rising" is a poem written by the English poet John Donne. Donne wrote a wide
range of social satire, sermons, holy sonnets, elegies, and love poems throughout his
lifetime, and he is perhaps best known for the similarities between his erotic poetry and his
religious poetry. Much of his work, including "The Sun Rising," was published after his death
in the 1633 collection Songs and Sonnets. In "The Sun Rising," the speaker orders the sun to
warm his bed so that he and his lover can stay there all day instead of getting up to go to
work. The poem's playful use of language and extended metaphor exemplifies Donne's style
across his work, erotic and religious alike.
"The Sun Rising" is a metaphysical poem written by John Donne, a 17th-century English poet.
This poem explores themes of love, time, and the insignificance of worldly affairs in the face
of true love. Here's a line-by-line analysis of the poem:
"Busy old fool, unruly Sun"
Donne addresses the sun as if it has a personality, calling it a "busy old fool" for disrupting his
private moment with his lover. This sets the tone of the poem as Donne challenges the
conventional view of the sun as a symbol of light and life.
"Why dost thou thus,"
The poet questions the sun, asking why it interrupts the intimacy of the lovers.
"Through windows, and through curtains, call on us?"
Donne complains that the sun rudely intrudes through the windows and curtains,
symbolizing the intrusion of worldly concerns into the private sphere of love.
"Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run?"
Donne suggests that lovers should not be subject to the sun's movements or external
influences. He rebels against the idea that love should be dictated by external factors.
"Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide"
The poet further scolds the sun, describing it as a "saucy pedantic wretch" who should be
reprimanded for its interference in the affairs of lovers.
"Late schoolboys and sour prentices,"
Donne compares the sun to schoolboys and apprentices who rise late and are in a bad mood.
This emphasizes the poet's disdain for the sun's disruptive behavior.
"Go tell court-huntsmen that the king will ride,"
Donne sarcastically suggests that the sun should inform court-huntsmen about the king's
activities instead of bothering lovers. This reinforces the idea that the affairs of the world are
inconsequential to the poet.
1 Busy old fool, unruly sun,
2 Why dost thou thus,
3Through windows, and through curtains call on us?
4Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run?
5 Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide
6 Late school boys and sour prentices,
7 Go tell court huntsmen that the king will ride,
8 Call country ants to harvest offices,
9Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime,
10Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.
11 Thy beams, so reverend and strong
12 Why shouldst thou think?
13I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink,
14But that I would not lose her sight so long;
15 If her eyes have not blinded thine,
16 Look, and tomorrow late, tell me,
17 Whether both th' Indias of spice and mine
18 Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with me.
19Ask for those kings whom thou saw'st yesterday,
20And thou shalt hear, All here in one bed lay.
21 She's all states, and all princes, I,
22 Nothing else is.
23Princes do but play us; compared to this,
24All honor's mimic, all wealth alchemy.
25 Thou, sun, art half as happy as we,
26 In that the world's contracted thus.
27 Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be
28 To warm the world, that's done in warming us.
29Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere;
30This bed thy center is, these walls, thy sphere.
, INTRODUCTION
"The Sun Rising" is a poem written by the English poet John Donne. Donne wrote a wide
range of social satire, sermons, holy sonnets, elegies, and love poems throughout his
lifetime, and he is perhaps best known for the similarities between his erotic poetry and his
religious poetry. Much of his work, including "The Sun Rising," was published after his death
in the 1633 collection Songs and Sonnets. In "The Sun Rising," the speaker orders the sun to
warm his bed so that he and his lover can stay there all day instead of getting up to go to
work. The poem's playful use of language and extended metaphor exemplifies Donne's style
across his work, erotic and religious alike.
"The Sun Rising" is a metaphysical poem written by John Donne, a 17th-century English poet.
This poem explores themes of love, time, and the insignificance of worldly affairs in the face
of true love. Here's a line-by-line analysis of the poem:
"Busy old fool, unruly Sun"
Donne addresses the sun as if it has a personality, calling it a "busy old fool" for disrupting his
private moment with his lover. This sets the tone of the poem as Donne challenges the
conventional view of the sun as a symbol of light and life.
"Why dost thou thus,"
The poet questions the sun, asking why it interrupts the intimacy of the lovers.
"Through windows, and through curtains, call on us?"
Donne complains that the sun rudely intrudes through the windows and curtains,
symbolizing the intrusion of worldly concerns into the private sphere of love.
"Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run?"
Donne suggests that lovers should not be subject to the sun's movements or external
influences. He rebels against the idea that love should be dictated by external factors.
"Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide"
The poet further scolds the sun, describing it as a "saucy pedantic wretch" who should be
reprimanded for its interference in the affairs of lovers.
"Late schoolboys and sour prentices,"
Donne compares the sun to schoolboys and apprentices who rise late and are in a bad mood.
This emphasizes the poet's disdain for the sun's disruptive behavior.
"Go tell court-huntsmen that the king will ride,"
Donne sarcastically suggests that the sun should inform court-huntsmen about the king's
activities instead of bothering lovers. This reinforces the idea that the affairs of the world are
inconsequential to the poet.
