Analisi poetica

Busy old fool, unruly sun,

Original Poetry

Translation

Busy old fool, unruly sun,

Why dost thou thus,

Why are you doing this,

Through windows, and through curtains call on us?

Calling us through windows and curtains?

Do lovers have to follow your schedule?

Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run?

Rude, know-it-all, go scold

Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide

Late schoolboys and grumpy apprentices,

Late school boys and sour prentices,

Tell court huntsmen that the king will ride,

Go tell court huntsmen that the king will ride,

Call country ants to their harvest jobs,

Call country ants to harvest offices,

Love is the same everywhere, it doesn't care about seasons or climates,

Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime,

Or hours, days, months, which are just bits of time.

Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.

Your rays, so respected and strong,

Thy beams, so reverend and strong

Why do you think that?

Why shouldst thou think?

I could block them with a blink,

I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink,

But I don't want to miss seeing her for that long;

But that I would not lose her sight so long;

If her eyes haven't blinded yours,

If her eyes have not blinded thine,

Look, and tomorrow tell me,

Look, and tomorrow late, tell me,

Whether the riches of the East are where you left them, or are here with me.

Whether both th' Indias of spice and mine

Ask about those kings you saw yesterday,

Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with me.

And you'll hear, they all lay here in one bed.

Ask for those kings whom thou saw'st yesterday,

She is everything, and I am all the rulers,

And thou shalt hear, All here in one bed lay.

Nothing else matters.

She's all states, and all princes, I,

Rulers just pretend to be us; compared to this,

Nothing else is.

All honor is just pretend, all wealth is fake.

Princes do but play us; compared to this,

You, sun, are only half as happy as we are,

All honor's mimic, all wealth alchemy.

Because the world is shrunk like this.

Thou, sun, art half as happy as we,

Your age wants rest, and since your job is

In that the world's contracted thus.

To warm the world, that's done by warming us.

Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be

Shine here on us, and you are everywhere;

To warm the world, that's done in warming us.

This bed is your center, these walls, your world.

Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere;

This bed thy center is, these walls, thy sphere.

Explanation

John Donne's 'The Sun Rising' is a metaphysical poem that personifies the sun as an intrusive force in the lives of lovers. The speaker chastises the sun for interrupting their private world, suggesting that love transcends time and space. The poem uses a playful tone to diminish the sun's power, asserting that love is not bound by the sun's cycles. The speaker claims that their love is the center of the universe, making the sun's duties redundant. The poem is rich in metaphysical conceits, using elaborate comparisons to convey the intensity and supremacy of love. Donne's use of direct address, irony, and hyperbole emphasizes the lovers' defiance against external forces and celebrates the timeless nature of their union.

Word Dictionary15

Word	Easy Meaning	Translation	Pron.
unruly	disorderly, uncontrollable	difficult to control or manage	uhn-roo-lee
dost	do	do	dust
thou	you	you	thou
thy	your	your	thigh
saucy	cheeky, impudent	boldly disrespectful	saw-see
pedantic	overly concerned with rules	excessively concerned with minor details or rules	puh-dan-tik
wretch	miserable person	a person regarded with pity or contempt	retch
prentices	apprentices	people learning a trade	pren-tuh-siz
reverend	respected	worthy of respect	rev-er-uhnd
eclipse	obscure, block	to block out or overshadow	ih-klips
clime	climate, region	a region considered with reference to its climate	klahym
alchemy	magical transformation	a seemingly magical process of transformation	al-kuh-mee
sphere	area, domain	a round object or area of influence	sfeer
mimic	imitate, copy	to imitate or copy closely	mim-ik
contracted	shrunk, reduced	made smaller or reduced in size	kuhn-trak-tid

Poet & Context

PoetJohn Donne

EraMetaphysical poetry, early 17th century

John Donne (1571/1572 – 1631) was an English poet, scholar, and cleric in the Church of England. Known for his metaphysical poetry, Donne's works are characterized by their metaphorical and sensual style. He served as Dean of St Paul's Cathedral and is famous for his mastery of metaphysical conceits.

View on Wikipedia

WhenEarly 17th century

WhyJohn Donne's 'The Sun Rising' is a metaphysical poem that challenges the authority of the sun and highlights the timelessness and supremacy of love over worldly concerns. It reflects Donne's style of using metaphysical conceits to explore complex themes.

FormMetaphysical poetry

Themes & More

Themes

LoveTimeNature vs. Human ExperienceDefiance

Literary devices

Personification: The sun is addressed as a person who can be spoken to.Metaphysical conceit: Elaborate comparisons between the sun's duties and the lovers' experience.Hyperbole: Exaggeration of the lovers' importance compared to the sun.Irony: The sun, a powerful force, is mocked and diminished by the speaker.Imagery: Vivid descriptions of the sun's beams and the lovers' intimate setting.

Analisi poetica

Busy old fool, unruly sun,

Original Poetry

Translation

Busy old fool, unruly sun,

Why dost thou thus,

Why are you doing this,

Through windows, and through curtains call on us?

Calling us through windows and curtains?

Do lovers have to follow your schedule?

Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run?

Rude, know-it-all, go scold

Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide

Late schoolboys and grumpy apprentices,

Late school boys and sour prentices,

Tell court huntsmen that the king will ride,

Go tell court huntsmen that the king will ride,

Call country ants to their harvest jobs,

Call country ants to harvest offices,

Love is the same everywhere, it doesn't care about seasons or climates,

Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime,

Or hours, days, months, which are just bits of time.

Nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.

Your rays, so respected and strong,

Thy beams, so reverend and strong

Why do you think that?

Why shouldst thou think?

I could block them with a blink,

I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink,

But I don't want to miss seeing her for that long;

But that I would not lose her sight so long;

If her eyes haven't blinded yours,

If her eyes have not blinded thine,

Look, and tomorrow tell me,

Look, and tomorrow late, tell me,

Whether the riches of the East are where you left them, or are here with me.

Whether both th' Indias of spice and mine

Ask about those kings you saw yesterday,

Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with me.

And you'll hear, they all lay here in one bed.

Ask for those kings whom thou saw'st yesterday,

She is everything, and I am all the rulers,

And thou shalt hear, All here in one bed lay.

Nothing else matters.

She's all states, and all princes, I,

Rulers just pretend to be us; compared to this,

Nothing else is.

All honor is just pretend, all wealth is fake.

Princes do but play us; compared to this,

You, sun, are only half as happy as we are,

All honor's mimic, all wealth alchemy.

Because the world is shrunk like this.

Thou, sun, art half as happy as we,

Your age wants rest, and since your job is

In that the world's contracted thus.

To warm the world, that's done by warming us.

Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be

Shine here on us, and you are everywhere;

To warm the world, that's done in warming us.

This bed is your center, these walls, your world.

Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere;

This bed thy center is, these walls, thy sphere.

Explanation

Word Dictionary15

Word	Easy Meaning	Translation	Pron.
unruly	disorderly, uncontrollable	difficult to control or manage	uhn-roo-lee
dost	do	do	dust
thou	you	you	thou
thy	your	your	thigh
saucy	cheeky, impudent	boldly disrespectful	saw-see
pedantic	overly concerned with rules	excessively concerned with minor details or rules	puh-dan-tik
wretch	miserable person	a person regarded with pity or contempt	retch
prentices	apprentices	people learning a trade	pren-tuh-siz
reverend	respected	worthy of respect	rev-er-uhnd
eclipse	obscure, block	to block out or overshadow	ih-klips
clime	climate, region	a region considered with reference to its climate	klahym
alchemy	magical transformation	a seemingly magical process of transformation	al-kuh-mee
sphere	area, domain	a round object or area of influence	sfeer
mimic	imitate, copy	to imitate or copy closely	mim-ik
contracted	shrunk, reduced	made smaller or reduced in size	kuhn-trak-tid

Poet & Context

PoetJohn Donne

EraMetaphysical poetry, early 17th century

View on Wikipedia

WhenEarly 17th century

FormMetaphysical poetry

Themes & More

Themes

LoveTimeNature vs. Human ExperienceDefiance

Literary devices