Introduction
The Sunne Rising, also known as The Sun Rising is a metaphysical poem as well as a love poem set in the speaker’s bedroom. The poem was written by John Donne who was a great English essayist, Poet, and philosopher of the 18th Century. He is also known as the founder of Metaphysical poetry. John Donne’s other famous metaphysical poems are The Flea, The Good Morrow, and Holly Sonnets.
structure Of The Poem
Present Poem The Sun Rising is a thirty lines poem with three stanzas containing ten lines. With irregular line length and regular rhyme scheme of ABBACDCDEE. The meter is also varied.
Themes Of The Poem
The Sun Rising poem revolves around the themes of love and appreciation. Love has never-ending power, and it is not bound to any restrictions of nature. The poet is addressing the sun directly. Love and friendship are not bound by the motion of the sun. He praises and accolades the beauty of his beloved.
The Sun Rising Poem Analysis
In the first stanza poem has a dramatic situation, the same as most often in his poems. The speaker gets angry with the rising sun and tells the sun not to disturb him and his beloved in making love. The tone of the poem is striking and angry. The poet addresses the sun by saying – you are a fool, busy and uncontrollable.
When we (means lovers) are in bed why you disturbed us through your rays and peep into my room? Here poet raises a question. Do you want lovers to go according to your motion? No, and never, love is associated with such barriers. Go and wake up late school boys, huntsman and farmers go to work. Poet further says:
“Love all alike, no season knows nor clime;
Nor hours, days, months, which are the rays of time.”
Here poet means love is not bound by climate and neither seasons nor it is connected with the pieces of times, hours days, and months.
The second stanza is about the wholehearted appreciation of the beloved. He can fade the sun into clouds in one second by closing his eyes but he does not lose sight of his beloved. The poet exaggerated in the fifth line by saying my beloved eyes are shiner than you. He says whether east India or west all the things are laying with me. In order to enjoy your go and come yesterday.
In the third stanza, the poet continues the direct address towards to the sun. He says my beloved is my state and I am the king of that state. This means the poet firmly says that he is like a king as he possesses the beauty and true love of his beloved. For him, all the honors and wealth are nothing in comparison to his beloved.
Pitying the sun the speaker says the sun is fully not happy as the loving is, shine its job is to keep the world warm, and in its old age it wants easier work, so all it has to do is to shine on the speaker’s bed where his beloved is lying. This way his job is easily fulfilled as for the speaker his beloved is the world and by shining on the bed I it is shining on the world, which we can understand by these lines:
“Shine here to us and thou art everywhere;
This bed thy center is these walls thy sphere;”
Poet means to say for the sun their bed is the center of the world and the walls of the room are the orbit of the Sun.
Conclusion
Thus in the poem, The Sun Rising the poet highlights the importance and significance of Love. Love is more powerful and brighter than the Sun. Although John Donne is not a romantic poet. His poems can be divided into two groups. Love poems as well as divine or holy poems. The present poem The Sunne Rising is the perfect example of a Love Poem.
