Lecture Notes: John Donne's Poem "The Sun Rising"

Introduction

• Video is a revision for John Donne's poem "The Sun Rising," specifically for final exams in the IEB curriculum.
• Lecture intended for Cullen in the current matric class.

John Donne's Life

• Lived during the reign of three monarchs: Queen Elizabeth I, King James, and King Charles I.
• Bright young man, attended both Oxford and Cambridge.
• Was a Catholic during a time of persecution, couldn't earn degrees.
• Diverse career: soldier, lawyer, diplomat, and member of Parliament.
• Converted to Anglicanism, became Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral.
• Known for sermons and poetry, inspired the metaphysical poets.

Metaphysical Poetry

• Focuses on the nature of reality, a reaction against Elizabethan poetry.
• Conversational style with provocative content, uses logic, wit, paradoxes, and puns.
• Often written as arguments, exemplified in Donne's poem "The Flea."
• Metaphysical conceits: use dissimilar images to make philosophical points.
• Recommended to watch the play "Wit" by Margaret Edson for more insight.

Structure of "The Sun Rising"

• Consists of three stanzas, each with 10 lines.
• Complex rhyme scheme, reflective of metaphysical poets' style.
• Use of apostrophe: the sun is addressed directly.

Analysis of Stanzas

First Stanza:

• Speaker addresses the sun disrespectfully, using terms like "busy old fool" and "saucy pedantic wretch."
• The sun interrupts the speaker and his lover; challenges the necessity of following the sun's timetable.
• Disparages the sun's importance compared to other subordinate figures (schoolboys, apprentices, etc.).
• Love is timeless, not subject to seasons or clocks.

Second Stanza:

• Continues apostrophe, challenges the sun's power.
• The speaker can block out the sun's rays by closing his eyes (eclipse metaphor).
• The lady's beauty surpasses the sun's brightness.
• Speaker taunts the sun to find anything more beautiful than his lover.

Third Stanza:

• The speaker claims his lover is more important than countries, royalty, and leaders.
• Asserts their genuine happiness and wealth.
• Suggests the sun's role is diminished; the world is contracted to the lovers' room.
• Use of alliteration; lovers as celestial bodies at the universe's center.

Literary Devices

• Use of hyperbole and apostrophe.
• Examination of love poems or songs (aubades) traditionally sung at dawn by lovers.
• Analyzes whether the poem could be an aubade, questioning possible illicit affair.

Conclusion

• Emphasizes shifts in emotion: disdain, challenge, and conciliation.
• Revision concludes with good luck wishes for exams.