The Sun Rising - John Donne

THE SUN RISING – By JOHN DONNE

Poem- Text:

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.

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Summary:

‘The Sun Rising’ is a poem written by John Donne. This is an emotional lyric in the form of a dramatic monologue.

In the first stanza, the poet rebukes the Sun for disturbing the lovers. He says that the lovers’ seasons are not controlled by the Sun. The Sun should take care of late school boys, ill-tempered trainees, farm labourers and courtiers. Like others, lovers do not have any seasonal or climatic limitations.

In the second stanza, the poet asks the Sun not to think that his rays are very strong. If the poet wishes, he can stop the rays by closing his eyes. But, he would not do so, as he would miss the sight of his mistress. The poet says that both Indias of spices and mine are present in his room. He says that all the kings of the world lay in his bed.

In the third stanza, the poet says that all the states are in his mistress and all the princes are in himself.  Except the lovers, everything else is unreal for the poet.  Their love is the only true honour and wealth.  In their contracted world, the Sun is only half as happy as they are. The poet says that the sun can perform his duty by giving light and warmth to the lovers.  The poet says that his bed is the centre of the universe and his room is the sphere of the Sun. 

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NOOJILLA SRINIVAS

Lecturer in English,

Govt. Degree College - Alamuru

M: 7981862200

email: noojillasrinivas@gmail.com