Busy old fool, unruly sun, by John Donne — Analysis & Translation

Original Poem

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.

Translation (English)

Busy old fool, unruly sun, Why are you doing this, Calling us through windows and curtains? Do lovers have to follow your schedule? Rude, know-it-all, go scold Late schoolboys and grumpy apprentices, Tell court huntsmen that the king will ride, Call country ants to their harvest jobs, Love is the same everywhere, it doesn't care about seasons or climates, Or hours, days, months, which are just bits of time. Your rays, so respected and strong, Why do you think that? I could block them with a blink, But I don't want to miss seeing her for that long; If her eyes haven't blinded yours, Look, and tomorrow tell me, Whether the riches of the East are where you left them, or are here with me. Ask about those kings you saw yesterday, And you'll hear, they all lay here in one bed. She is everything, and I am all the rulers, Nothing else matters. Rulers just pretend to be us; compared to this, All honor is just pretend, all wealth is fake. You, sun, are only half as happy as we are, Because the world is shrunk like this. Your age wants rest, and since your job is To warm the world, that's done by warming us. Shine here on us, and you are everywhere; This bed is your center, these walls, your world.

About the Poet

John Donne (Metaphysical poetry, early 17th century)

John Donne (1571/1572 – 1631) was an English poet, scholar, and cleric in the Church of England. Known for his metaphysical poetry, Donne's works are characterized by their metaphorical and sensual style. He served as Dean of St Paul's Cathedral and is famous for his mastery of metaphysical conceits.

Historical Context

Literary Form: Metaphysical poetry
When Written: Early 17th century
Background: John Donne's 'The Sun Rising' is a metaphysical poem that challenges the authority of the sun and highlights the timelessness and supremacy of love over worldly concerns. It reflects Donne's style of using metaphysical conceits to explore complex themes.

Sources: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/44129/the-sun-rising, https://poets.org/poem/sun-rising, https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/john-donne/the-sun-rising, https://internetpoem.com/john-donne/the-sun-rising-poem/, https://poemanalysis.com/john-donne/the-sun-rising/, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Donne

Detailed Explanation

John Donne's 'The Sun Rising' is a metaphysical poem that personifies the sun as an intrusive force in the lives of lovers. The speaker chastises the sun for interrupting their private world, suggesting that love transcends time and space. The poem uses a playful tone to diminish the sun's power, asserting that love is not bound by the sun's cycles. The speaker claims that their love is the center of the universe, making the sun's duties redundant. The poem is rich in metaphysical conceits, using elaborate comparisons to convey the intensity and supremacy of love. Donne's use of direct address, irony, and hyperbole emphasizes the lovers' defiance against external forces and celebrates the timeless nature of their union.

Themes

Literary Devices

Word Dictionary

Word	Meaning	Translation	Transliteration
unruly	disorderly, uncontrollable	difficult to control or manage	uhn-roo-lee
dost	do	do	dust
thou	you	you	thou
thy	your	your	thigh
saucy	cheeky, impudent	boldly disrespectful	saw-see
pedantic	overly concerned with rules	excessively concerned with minor details or rules	puh-dan-tik
wretch	miserable person	a person regarded with pity or contempt	retch
prentices	apprentices	people learning a trade	pren-tuh-siz
reverend	respected	worthy of respect	rev-er-uhnd
eclipse	obscure, block	to block out or overshadow	ih-klips
clime	climate, region	a region considered with reference to its climate	klahym
alchemy	magical transformation	a seemingly magical process of transformation	al-kuh-mee
sphere	area, domain	a round object or area of influence	sfeer
mimic	imitate, copy	to imitate or copy closely	mim-ik
contracted	shrunk, reduced	made smaller or reduced in size	kuhn-trak-tid