Gema Mellides Rayego

Prof. Cassandra S. Tully

English Literature I
October 6th, 2022

Analysis of “The Sun Rising”

The poem that I am going to analyze was written in the Jacobean Period, in the year 1633
by John Donne,(1572–1631) who was the most influential Metaphysical poet. His personal
relationship with spirituality is at the center of most of his work.

Regarding the historical context of the poem, “The Sun Rising” belongs to the Renaissance
period, to the Jacobean era, named after James I of England and VI of Scotland. This period
started in 1603, when Elizabeth died, and ended in 1625 with James death. It is called
“Jacobean period” because the name James comes from the Hebrew name Jacob. There is a
change in literature, this literature is famous because of the satires and Metaphysical Poetry.
The prose starts to become more famous.

James I was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots, so he became King of Scotland, also, he was
the nearest relative of Elizabeth and when she died, James I became King of England. He
made many contributions to English culture, one of the greatest is the Authorized King James
´s version of the Bible, that became the standard Bible for almost 250 years.

During his reign, a group of religious extremists tried to blow up the English parliament
building, and kill the King in what is known as the “Gunpowder plot”, but it failed. Besides,
the Thirty Years War started also in his period but England stayed out of it. In 1625, James
died, and Charles, his second son, became the new king.

Regarding the literary features, the art and culture were greatly influenced by those of
Elizabeth's era, and also by ancient Greco-Roman culture, because it is written in a
Renaissance context in which beauty is found in recovering the forms of Antiquity. The
metaphysical poetry has a main role in “The Sun is Rising”, as in most of Donne´s poems.

This poem is an allegory in which the poet, considers himself as a King and his lover as the
entire world. The poem does not have a specific pattern but shares similarities with the sonnet
such as the iambic pentameter.
 It is divided in three stanzas of ten lines each. The metric scheme is a,b,b,a. The first stanza
starts with an invocation and personification of the sun. It is treated like a person because the
poet say how much the sunlight bothers him and insults the sun like in the first line “Busy old
fool”. Next to it he also uses a hyper-baton “Why dost thou thus, through windows, and
through curtains call on us?” that is an inversion of the normal order of words to make
emphasis.
The second stanza, is in general a sense´s description. John Donne also, tells the sun that it
is not as strong because he can make his light disappear with a wink (line 13), but in the next
line, he uses a hyperbole to say that he would not do such thing because he would lose his
lover for a long time. The author also claims that love must be shown in any moment and
place and that it is more important than work and duty.

In the last stanza is in which we find the metaphor (a figure of speech in which a word or is
applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable) of the woman and the
world, “She´s all the states, and all princess”. The writer say that she is everything and if the
sun shines on them it do not need to travel anymore. He also try to show us that compared to
the lady, all honor and wealth is false

To sum up, the main objective of the man who is talking to the sun is to convince it that it is
old and not as strong as his feelings towards the women, so it can rest in their bed because
there is nothing more outside. This is an exaggerated and metaphysical way of idealizing his
beloved and love.

Work cites:
-A Brief Guide to Metaphysical Poets | Academy of American Poets.