The Sunne Rising
Upon first reading of John Donne's 'The Sunne Rising' (Leonard 1998:463), it is obvious the poem is a love poem and it appears that the concerns of the poet are to show the speaker's love for his mistress. Showing this them of love was obviously one of the poets concerns but the poem could also be seen as a statement of something greater. At the time Donne wrote this poem it was unconventional. The poem would have been seen as outrageous and very different from any poems written by previous poets. This is because of the nature in which Donne treats the sun. In previous poetry, God, Worldly beings and nature had all been worshipped and respected. All these things were considered rational, powerful and above everything else. Donne tests these theories in his poem by considering love as irrational, something that cannot conform to such a heavenly power as the sun. He is playing with the idea that maybe there is something greater than what men have previously considered, and that this something may be love.The poem shows a man's love and affection for his mistress. The masculine speaker of the poem is obviously in love and besotted by his mistress. The poet expresses this love by using a poem that in the first stanza app
He explores the theory that love is more powerful than one of nature's greatest treasures, the sun. In the third stanza the speaker states 'She'is all States, and all Princes, I, nothing else is' (Leonard 1998:463). Donne's treatment of the sun in the first stanza is definitely not respectful but by referring to the sun as he does it enables the reader to comprehend the annoyance that the lovers are undergoing. Referring to the sun as a 'sawcy pedantique wretch' (Leonard 1998:463), that is insinuating a miserable, unhappy being is also ironic. He believes as lovers, time should stand still and they should be left alone to love and adore each other. Calling the sun 'unruly' (Leonard 1998:463), that is, hard to control and disorderly, is also an irony. He tells the sun that even though its beams are bright and strong and he knows that the sun should be respected with awe and affection, he could overshadow all this with a wink of his eye. The sun is very systematic and orderly, rising and setting at regimented times every day. The sun has awoken the speaker and his mistress whilst they are in bed as lovers. The punctuation in this first stanza also displays this feeling of annoyance. The first line of the poem tends to shatter this image of a beautiful awakening, 'Busie old foole, unruly Sunne,' (Leonard 1998:463) obviously the speaker of the poem is not happy about the dawning of the sun. Similar to the way in which an annoyed teacher would demand an answer from insolent student. The lover then explains that when in love time stands still. The use of the word 'thou' (Leonard 1998:463) throughout the poem indicates that the speaker is talking in a crude and familiar way towards the sun.
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Acceptance Essays
