Attempt an assessment of the poem 'The Sunne Rising'.
As a love poet, Donne is definitely unique and unconventional. Like The Good Morrow, The
Flea, Anniversary, and many more. The Sunne Rising is a typical instance of his love-poetry.
In theme as well as poetical technique, the poem is illustrative of Donne's capability as a poet of
love. Indeed, The Sunne Rising is a typical love-poem and bears out both the thematic novelity
and the technical craftsmanship of the poet in Donne
The Sunne Rising, as noted, is a love poem and belongs to the type of Donne's love poetry on
happy, self-complacent mood of love. It is a poem of joyous love, love happy in its fulfilment.
The poet-lover's sense of joy is so intense that he goes to challenge the sun and the universe to
show anything superior to or richer than their love. He claims unequivocally that nothing exists
apart from the experience of happy, contented love. His love and ladylove and he himself are
beyond the regulation of time and not in any way subject to the laws of nature. His assertion is
clear, positive and emphatic in this respect.
"Love, all alike, no season knowes, nor clyme
Nor houres, dayes, moneths, which are the rags of time.”
The poet-lover's ecstatic happiness bears out a mood that is wonderfully alive and even wild in
exaggeration. The sun, so reverend and strong', 'the Indias of spice and Myne, princes all honour
and wealth and even the opulence of the whole universe are brushed aside and dismissed as
"Nothing else is.
In this mood of wild ecstasy, the poet-lover has a lively, humorous, rather sardonic approach. He
scolds the sun as an old fool, a senseless intruder, peering through windowes and through
curtaines. and disturbing the happy lovers in their exclusive chamber.
Such a theme, no doubt diverting, is manifested in a technique that diverts no less. The poem has
an explosive beginning and a dramatic setting. This is in a delightfully conversational tone-
Busie old fool, unruly sunne
The conversational tone of the poem has diction and rhythm close to the speech of common life.
The spontaneous, common-place expressions of ordinary life here abound as the sun is addressed
and admonished is mock-witty manner. The sublime and the common-place are brought together
as the spices of the east Indies and the mines of the West Indies and the ecstasy of love are
bracketed to have an impact, deep and amusing.
The poem bears out, too, many of Donne's favourite techniques- from the dramatic beginning to
his device of listing (hours, days. months), from metaphysical conciseness to conceits. Again, a
variety of images, characteristic of Donne's metaphysical pattern, with precision and epigramatic
depth, is well marked. The pun on "her' and here', and the description of the lovers bed as the
centre of the universe and the walls of the lovers room as the circle of the movement of the sun
are typically metaphysical and interesting enough. The rhythmic beat of the poem moves
uniformly with the mock-serious theme. There is, infact, a perfect harmony between the poet's
mood of love and manner of expression.
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