The Sun Rising by John Donne
I think John Donne attempts to escape the reality of the social regulations about love according to “The Sun Rising”. John Donne was an English poet, priest and lawyer of Elizabethan era. “The Sun Rising” is one of his finest literary works. One morning, the speaker was lying in his bed with his wife. The sun shines on them. The speaker becomes angry at the sun. He feels bothered by its shine and tells it to get lost and go bother other, lesser people. He tells the sun that love is not dependent on the sun's movements or the changing of the seasons. He says it to stay away. After that the speaker goes in different mood. He tells that he is stronger than the sun. It is because he can just shut his eyes and make the giant star disappear entirely. Moreover, he tells the sun to look around and discover that the whole world. He exaggerates his idea saying that he and his lady are all the countries and kings in the world combined, that everything else in the world is just pretending to be them. The speaker thinks that the sun is old. He adds that its job has just got easier. The reason is that the whole world now is now represented by just this one room. So, the sun doesn't have to travel for shining the planet. Rather it only needs to shine on this couple. If the giant star does so, other things will be bright and peachy. John Donne presented his love for his partner beautifully in this poem. Generally we try to show a respectful manner towards the sun because it is the star of our universe. Life is impossible in the earth without the sun. But in this poem, we can see that the speaker insults the sun. In general thought, the love between two human beings of a room is not much important when we compare it to the important elements of world. But John Donne’s perspective is very special than an average person. He has used metaphors and exaggerations in “The Sun Rising”. It is not only a typical poem of love; rather it has also a different vibe. The normal thing is that the sun rays goes to every possible place of the earth. Through this process, it goes to the room of the speaker. But the speaker suggests it such things which goes against the reality of social regulation. He suggests it to shine on the late school boys. They need the sun rather than a couple lying in bed. He tells it to go to the kings’ huntsmen as they are in more requirement of the sun. The king will go for riding and so the huntsmen need to be awaken. John Donne represents the farmer as “country ants”. The speaker suggests the sun to go o those farmers who need to cultivate. The normal social regulation is that everything has its proper place and timing. But John Donne goes against the regulation of society in term of his love. The speaker in “The Sun Rising” says that his love does not depend on season, climate, hours, days and months. After that we can again witness John Donne’s move against the social regulation. Human beings typically count the sun as a powerful element. But the speaker considers that he is stronger than the sun. It is because he can avoid its beams closing his eyes. The speaker tells the giant star to look for the wealth of India and Caribbean regions (they are referred as “both th’ Indias” in the poem). Generally human beings have much ambition to the spices of India and mines of Caribbean. But John Donne again goes against the social regulation here. The speaker says that those wealth are with him. Even he says that the kings that were seen by the sun yesterday are in his bed. The speaker thinks his lover as all the countries and himself as all the princes. He says that all other thinks are cheap comparing to his and his lover’s love. The speaker suggests the sun that it should take its work easy. It can shine the whole world by shinning the bedroom. The reality of the social regulation is haling the powerful things like monarchs, wealth and the sun. But John Donne clearly attempts to escape this reality.
