Poetry Analysis

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Busy old fool, unruly sun,

Original Poetry

Translation

Busy old fool, unruly sun,

Old and foolish sun, why are you bothering us?

Why dost thou thus,

Why do you call us through the windows and curtains?

Through windows, and through curtains call on us?

Do lovers have to follow your schedule?

Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run?

Rude, know-it-all sun, go bother schoolboys and apprentices.

Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide

Tell the hunters that the king is going to ride,

Late school boys and sour prentices,

Call the ants to their harvest duties.

Go tell court huntsmen that the king will ride,

Love is the same everywhere, it doesn't follow seasons or climates,

Call country ants to harvest offices,

It doesn't care about hours, days, or months, which are just parts of time.

Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime,

Your rays are so respected and strong,

Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.

Why do you think you're so important?

Thy beams, so reverend and strong

I could block them with a wink,

Why shouldst thou think?

But I don't want to miss seeing her for that long.

I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink,

If her eyes haven't blinded you,

But that I would not lose her sight so long;

Look and tell me tomorrow,

If her eyes have not blinded thine,

If the riches of the East are still where you left them, or if they're here with me.

Look, and tomorrow late, tell me,

Ask about the kings you saw yesterday,

Whether both th' Indias of spice and mine

And you'll hear that they're all here in bed with us.

Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with me.

She is all countries, and I am all rulers;

Ask for those kings whom thou saw'st yesterday,

Nothing else matters;

And thou shalt hear, All here in one bed lay.

Rulers just imitate us; compared to this,

She's all states, and all princes, I,

All honor is fake, all wealth is just an illusion.

Nothing else is.

You, Sun, are only half as happy as we are,

Princes do but play us; compared to this,

Because the world is smaller for us;

All honor's mimic, all wealth alchemy.

You're old and need rest, and since your job is

Thou, sun, art half as happy as we,

To warm the world, you've done it by warming us.

In that the world's contracted thus.

Shine on us, and you're shining everywhere;

Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be

This bed is your center, these walls are your universe.

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.

Explanation

John Donne's poem 'The Sun Rising' is a metaphysical exploration of love and the nature of time. The speaker addresses the sun directly, chastising it for interrupting his intimate moments with his lover. He mocks the sun's authority, suggesting that it should bother others like schoolboys and workers instead. The speaker argues that love transcends time and space, making the sun's daily routine irrelevant. He uses hyperbole to elevate his love, claiming that his lover embodies all nations and he, all rulers. This exaggeration underscores the intensity and exclusivity of their relationship. The poem is rich with metaphysical conceits, comparing the lovers' bed to the center of the universe, thus diminishing the sun's importance. Donne's use of wit and irony challenges conventional views of time and authority, emphasizing the supremacy of personal experience and emotion over external forces.

Word Dictionary15

Word	In English	Plain (English)	Pron.
unruly	disorderly	difficult to control	uhn-roo-lee
dost	do	do	dust
thou	you	you	thou
thy	your	your	thy
saucy	cheeky	boldly disrespectful	saw-see
pedantic	overly concerned with details	excessively concerned with minor details or rules	puh-dan-tik
wretch	miserable person	unfortunate or despicable person	retch
prentices	apprentices	people learning a trade	pren-tis-es
clime	region	a region considered with reference to its climate	klahym
reverend	respected	worthy of reverence	rev-er-uhnd
eclipse	block	obscure or block out	ih-klips
thine	your	your	thine
th’ Indias	the Indies	the regions of India and surrounding areas	the in-dee-uhs
alchemy	magic	medieval chemistry aiming to transform matter	al-kuh-mee
sphere	area	a round object or domain	sfeer

Poet & Context

PoetJohn Donne

EraMetaphysical poetry era

John Donne was an English poet, scholar, and cleric in the Church of England, known for his metaphysical poetry. He was born in 1571 or 1572 and died in 1631. Donne's work is noted for its metaphorical style, sensuality, and use of metaphysical conceits.

View on Wikipedia

WhenEarly 17th century

WhyThe poem 'The Sun Rising' is a metaphysical poem by John Donne, expressing the speaker's disdain for the sun interrupting his time with his lover. It reflects Donne's characteristic style of using wit and conceit to explore themes of love and the nature of time.

FormMetaphysical poem

Themes & More

Themes

LoveTimeAuthorityNature

Literary devices

Personification: The sun is addressed as if it were a person.Metaphysical conceit: The lovers' bed is compared to the center of the universe.Hyperbole: Exaggeration of the lovers' importance and the insignificance of the sun.Irony: The sun, a powerful force, is mocked and belittled.Imagery: Vivid descriptions of the sun's rays and the lovers' intimate setting.