The Sun Rising - A poem by John Donne

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 schoolboys 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 left'st 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 is all states, and all princes I; Nothing else is. Princes do but play us; compared to this, All honour'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 centre is, these walls thy sphere.

Comment 2 of 2, added on April 15th, 2006 at 8:05 AM.

This poem writen by John Donne, is very beautiful and is written well. It is about a man who is complaining about the sun waking him up. He chides the sun to chase late school boys etc. He then tells the sun that he is more superior than the sun becuase he can eclipse the sun but he would not do that because he cant bear losing sight of his lover. He compares his lover to the spices of India and the Mines (gold). He tells the sun that all the spices of India and all the Mines are sleeping next to him. He goes on to talk abit about domination. He then concludes by tell the sun that now this is its world, universe (the room). In the end we get the feeling that the lovers like the sun and its warmth.

Shakthi from Australia

Comment 1 of 2, added on August 21st, 2005 at 3:57 AM.

I think that this poem is about a man and his mistress, they are in bed he he doesnt want the sun to come up becasue when it does it means that the wman has to leave. He belives that they are the center of the universe, not the sun. and with they sun comes a new day, and he just wants it to stay the night before. the woman that he is with is beautiful, and he wants to capture her beauty & he belives that she is even more beautiful & importiant than the sun. the woman is so pretty, that he doesnt want to close his eyes. it is a romantic peom, and he certinaly knows all the right things to say to make a girl feel special!

jessica from Australia

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