The Sun Rising- John Donne

This poem is written from the narrative of a young man lamenting the sun rising because it brings with it an obligation for him and his lover to leave their bed. In the opening line, the narrator describes the sun as "unruly" and a "busy old fool", demonstrating his anger towards its unwanted presence. The man speaks directly to the sun, asking why it must "through windows, and through curtains, call on us?" and this is evidence of the mans arrogance, because he's addressing something infinitely more powerful, and also shows how Donne personifies the sun.

In the second stanza the narrator declares that he could "eclipse and cloud" the sun with a wink and this is further evidence of narrative arrogance because he is undermining the suns power. Furthermore, it's possible that Donne uses the work 'wink' rather than 'blink' because 'winking' is associated with cheekiness and hidden secrets, sometimes sexual attraction, and implies confidence. The fact that Donne uses the sun in his poem demonstrates the metaphysical aspect of the poem, because the sun is most definitely beyond the physical world.

One feature of metaphysical poetry employed by Donne in this poem is the use of a conceit. A conceit is an elaborate metaphor which takes two things wholly unalike and forces similarly. In this instance, Donne compares the couple in the bed to the entire world. Firstly, the narrator declares that there is no need for the sun to orbit the earth because all kings "here in one bed lay." Secondly, the third and final stanza begins with the line "She's all states, and all princes I", further supporting the conceit. Therefore, because the sun can only cover half the world at one time, and they are the whole world, it follows logically that the sun is only "half as happy" as them. One critic commented on this conceit lightheartedly by saying that "to a man in love, the bedroom can seem to enclose all the matters in the world."

Another feature of metaphysical poetry which is evident in this poem is the use of sexual innuendo. So far nearly every metaphysical love poem we have studied has had a sexual reference. For example, Marvell uses phallic imagery in his poem To His Coy Mistress when discussing "vegetable love" and in A Valediction Forbidding Mourning Donne describes how the compass "grows erect" when its other half comes home. Similarly, following the description of his lover as "all states" in The Sun Rising, the narrator says he's "all princes" who "do but play" on their land. Therefore the woman's body is the land on which he gets to play because he's a prince.

I'm enjoying studying Donne's work and metaphysical poetry as a whole. I particularly enjoy the use of wit employed by metaphysical poets in establishing elaborate conceits.