Donne:

Questions for Further Study

"The Sunne Rising"

1. Briefly describe the context of the speaker's words.

2. How effective is the opening of the poem and why? With what literary device does it begin?

3. What are the implications of calling the Sun a "Busie Olde Foole" and ""unruly"?

4. What emphasis is given to the poem by the speaker's reference to "windowes" and "curtaines"?

5. Explain the meaning of the 4th line. How effective is this rhetorical question?

6. Why is the sun "saucy", and why is it "pedantique"?

7. Comment on the shift of focus in the following three lines.

8. How does the tone change in the last two lines of this stanza, and what means does Donne employ to achieve this?

9. Explain the meaning of these lines.

10. What effect is achieved by Donne's use of inversion (a change in normal word order, or SYNTAX) in the first two lines of the second stanza?

11. What is the implication of the speaker's boast in the third and fourth lines of this stanza? How does this display Donne's wit?

12. How is the idea of the beauty of his mistress developed in the rest of the stanza?

13. Explain the geographical complexities of this stanza. Does this add to, or detract from the impact of the poem?

14. What is the tone of the final line - particularly the part in quotation marks?

15. What is the impact of the double metaphor which opens the third stanza?1

6. Comment on the tone of the next line.

17. Comment on Donne's use of poetic techniques in the third and fourth lines. How persuasive is this and why?

18. By reference to Ptolemaic astronomy, explain the complicated conceit which ends the poem.

19. What claims are being made, in this poem, for love, and what sort of love is it for which these claims are being made?

20. Explain how this poem can be read both as an elaborate joke, and as a sincere love poem.

Comments:

The first stanza begins in the everyday, common world, with the speaker abusing the sun in fairly blunt and common language. The second stanza widens the focus to the whole world - with its geographical references, and though the tone is condescending towards the sun, at least it is given the privilege of bearing witness to Kings and territories. In the final stanza the perspective is a universal one; one where the sun is finally allowed to perform its function. Only, in a neat reversal, Donne claims that the room which contains the lovers is itself the universe - thus making out his case for the idea, not just that love, but that their particular love, is all that matters.The argument in the poem is extremely complex and ingenious - though it is carried through in a way which is entertaining rather than confusing. The words chosen in the poem, however, are plain and straightforward. The poem uses the device with which it begins very cleverly - the speaker having addressed the sun, Donne the poet is able to keep the poem alive and interesting with the speaker's continuing remarks to it, so that the praise of the mistress comes in almost as an afterthought. Once the speaker gets over his irritation at the sun's intrusion, however, the poem focusses more and more on her beauty and the value of their love, so that the feeling in the poem seems to grow naturally. This makes us more likely to accept the speaker's final claim as valid in terms of feelings, however outrageous it is in terms of fact or logic. We feel as though we have overheard part of a conversation, and this dramatic technique creates an added feeling of realism. Overall the poem strikes a balance between Nature and Invention.

Follow up reading:

Compare this to Shakespeare's sonnets "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?" (18) and "My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun"...(130)...