GRADE 12 IEB
2026 poetry
all 16 prescribed poems
, poetry
The Sun Rising Donne
Ozymandias Shelley
Remember Rossetti
Namaqualand after Rain Plomer
Mirror Plath
Strangers Forever Kassam
For Oom Piet Dowling
Herb Garden Gray
Those Who Fought in Any Case Pound
Constantly Risking Absurdity Ferlinghetti
Ulysses Tennyson
Crossing Over Mann
Superstition Karibo
Trespasser Afrika
Stealing Duffy
The Poet Shakespeare
, introduction
The Sun Rising by John Donne “The Sun Rising” by John Donne is a
Busy old fool, unruly sun, metaphysical love poem that challenges
Why dost thou thus, conventional ideas of time, power, and
Through windows, and through curtains call on us? authority. The central message is that love
Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run? is more powerful and self-sufficient than
Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide the external world. The tone is bold, witty,
Late school boys and sour prentices, and argumentative, with playful defiance.
Go tell court huntsmen that the king will ride,
Call country ants to harvest offices,
Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime,
meaning
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.
On the surface, the poem shows a
speaker angrily addressing the sun for
Thy beams, so reverend and strong
interrupting him and his lover.
Why shouldst thou think?
He argues that lovers should not be ruled
I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink,
by time or nature.
But that I would not lose her sight so long;
On a deeper level, the poem suggests
If her eyes have not blinded thine,
that true love creates its own world,
Look, and tomorrow late, tell me,
complete and superior to political power
Whether both th' Indias of spice and mine
and material wealth.
Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with me.
The speaker’s attitude is confident and
Ask for those kings whom thou saw'st yesterday,
proud, almost boastful, as he elevates
And thou shalt hear, All here in one bed lay.
love above everything else.
She's all states, and all princes, I,
Nothing else is. theme
Princes do but play us; compared to this, Theme 1: Love vs. Time
All honor's mimic, all wealth alchemy. Love is shown as free from time and
Thou, sun, art half as happy as we, seasons. The speaker dismisses hours and
In that the world's contracted thus. days as unimportant, suggesting that
Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be deep emotional connection outweighs the
To warm the world, that's done in warming us. control of clocks and routines.
Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere;
This bed thy center is, these walls, thy sphere. Theme 2: Love as Power and Authority
The poem presents love as greater than
political power or wealth. By placing all
Language & Imagery states and princes within the lovers’ bed,
Donne uses strong visual imagery to elevate Donne suggests personal love can feel
love to a cosmic level. When the speaker claims more powerful than social status or
the sun’s light can be “eclipsed and clouded authority.
with a wink,” it shows love’s power to outshine
nature itself. The image of the lovers’ bed
containing “all states, and all princes” turns a
private space into the whole world,
emphasizing love’s dominance over wealth,
power, and geography.
Tone, Structure & Sound
The tone shifts from confrontational and mocking at the start to confident and triumphant by the
end. The poem is structured in three regular stanzas, each developing the speaker’s argument.
Alliteration in “Busy old fool” creates a sharp, rhythmic opening, while enjambment carries the
speaker’s flowing, conversational reasoning across lines. The metaphor of the lovers’ bed as the
sun’s “centre” and “sphere” suggests total control and completeness, and Donne’s bold word
choices like “saucy” and “pedantic” convey dominance and playful defiance.
2026 poetry
all 16 prescribed poems
, poetry
The Sun Rising Donne
Ozymandias Shelley
Remember Rossetti
Namaqualand after Rain Plomer
Mirror Plath
Strangers Forever Kassam
For Oom Piet Dowling
Herb Garden Gray
Those Who Fought in Any Case Pound
Constantly Risking Absurdity Ferlinghetti
Ulysses Tennyson
Crossing Over Mann
Superstition Karibo
Trespasser Afrika
Stealing Duffy
The Poet Shakespeare
, introduction
The Sun Rising by John Donne “The Sun Rising” by John Donne is a
Busy old fool, unruly sun, metaphysical love poem that challenges
Why dost thou thus, conventional ideas of time, power, and
Through windows, and through curtains call on us? authority. The central message is that love
Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run? is more powerful and self-sufficient than
Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide the external world. The tone is bold, witty,
Late school boys and sour prentices, and argumentative, with playful defiance.
Go tell court huntsmen that the king will ride,
Call country ants to harvest offices,
Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime,
meaning
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.
On the surface, the poem shows a
speaker angrily addressing the sun for
Thy beams, so reverend and strong
interrupting him and his lover.
Why shouldst thou think?
He argues that lovers should not be ruled
I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink,
by time or nature.
But that I would not lose her sight so long;
On a deeper level, the poem suggests
If her eyes have not blinded thine,
that true love creates its own world,
Look, and tomorrow late, tell me,
complete and superior to political power
Whether both th' Indias of spice and mine
and material wealth.
Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with me.
The speaker’s attitude is confident and
Ask for those kings whom thou saw'st yesterday,
proud, almost boastful, as he elevates
And thou shalt hear, All here in one bed lay.
love above everything else.
She's all states, and all princes, I,
Nothing else is. theme
Princes do but play us; compared to this, Theme 1: Love vs. Time
All honor's mimic, all wealth alchemy. Love is shown as free from time and
Thou, sun, art half as happy as we, seasons. The speaker dismisses hours and
In that the world's contracted thus. days as unimportant, suggesting that
Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be deep emotional connection outweighs the
To warm the world, that's done in warming us. control of clocks and routines.
Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere;
This bed thy center is, these walls, thy sphere. Theme 2: Love as Power and Authority
The poem presents love as greater than
political power or wealth. By placing all
Language & Imagery states and princes within the lovers’ bed,
Donne uses strong visual imagery to elevate Donne suggests personal love can feel
love to a cosmic level. When the speaker claims more powerful than social status or
the sun’s light can be “eclipsed and clouded authority.
with a wink,” it shows love’s power to outshine
nature itself. The image of the lovers’ bed
containing “all states, and all princes” turns a
private space into the whole world,
emphasizing love’s dominance over wealth,
power, and geography.
Tone, Structure & Sound
The tone shifts from confrontational and mocking at the start to confident and triumphant by the
end. The poem is structured in three regular stanzas, each developing the speaker’s argument.
Alliteration in “Busy old fool” creates a sharp, rhythmic opening, while enjambment carries the
speaker’s flowing, conversational reasoning across lines. The metaphor of the lovers’ bed as the
sun’s “centre” and “sphere” suggests total control and completeness, and Donne’s bold word
choices like “saucy” and “pedantic” convey dominance and playful defiance.
