Rhetorical Analysis of "The Sun Rising" by John Donne

Busy old fool, unruly sun,

Why dost thou thus

Through windows and through curtains call on us?

Must to thy notions lover’s season run?

Ans:- The lines bear the personification of ‘sun’.

               In a personification…………..

        Here ‘sun’ which is inanimate thing is given the attribution of living being. It is evident in the use of the adjectives – ‘old’, ‘busy’ and ‘unruly’, and also in the us of the verb ‘call’. Thus it is clear case of personification.

          The first line has a metaphor.

             In a metaphor……………

 Here ‘sun’ and ‘fool’ are compared to each other. As a court jesture is ‘busy’ purposelessly, ‘old’ of age and ‘unruly’ in behavior, the sun also by shining on the ‘lovers, behaves like a fool. The comparison is implicitly drawn here.

          The last line consists of another metaphor.

             In a metaphor……………..

Here ‘the course of love’ and ‘yearly seasons’ are compared to each other implicitly. As the season changes with the time, the course of love also carries various stages.

      The last two lines are the example of interrogation.

               In an interrogation……………

Here the questions are asked whose answers are implied within that sun bears no change in the course of true love or lovers.

Saucy pedantic wretch, go chide

Late school boy and sour prentices,

Go tell court human that the king will ride,

Call country ants to harvest offices;

Love all alike, no season knows, nor clime,

Nor hours. Days, months, which are the rags of time?

Ans”:- Here is an example of personification of sun.

                 In  a personification…………..

Here ‘sun’ an inanimate object in given the attribution of loving being by the use of the verb go chide or ‘go tell’ in the first and third line.

          Here is a metaphor in the first line.

 In a metaphor…

 Here ‘sun’ is compared to a wicked person who is rude and megalomaniac (the saucy pedantic wretch). The point of comparison is implicit here.

     Here is metaphor in third line too.

     Here ‘farmers’ are compared to ‘country ants’ in point of their huge numbers and earthly living.

 Here is asyndeton in the last line.

                  In an asyndeton there is omission of connecting conjunctions. Here the connecting conjunction ‘and’ is missing after the word ‘days’. The language has got force and vividness thereby.

         The last two line also bears a pal logia, a simple reiteration of the same word in a line or sentence.

 Here the word ‘nor’ is reiterated in the sentence.

 There is another metaphor in the rags of time.

 Here time is compared to bagger wearing the torn clothes (rags) which are various units – days, months, hours.

Thy beams so reverend and strong

Why should’st thou think?

I could eclipse and could them with a wink,

But that I would not lose her sight so long

If her eyes have not blinded thine,

Look, and tomorrow late, tell me,

Whether both the undies of spice and mine

Be where thou lef’st them, or lie here with me.

 Ask for those kings whom thou saw’st yesterday.

And thou shall here; all here in one bed lay.

Ans:- The third line and fifth line are hyperbolic.

             In a hyperbole……………

 Here the point of exaggeration is that ‘the lover would eclipse the sun with a mere wink of eyes’ or ‘the beloved’s eye is so bright that if would blind the sun itself’.

     There is periphrasis in ‘Indies of spice and mine’.

         In a periphrasis ........................

  Here indies of spice and mine is meant to be india and West indies, famous for its spice and mines respectivety. thus here it is stated in round about mamer.

         Here is antithesis in ‘Be where.... with me’.

              In a antithesis...............

 Here two contrasting ideas are placed in a balanced from.

Here the contrasting points are that which are left else where can never lie here’. the point of emphasis is that the lover’s intemal world is as rechlier as the external varieties.

        The last two lines bear an epigramatic slalement.

         In an epigram...........

here apparenlly the statement is shocking that how can the lovers, bed reveal the kings and kingdoms. but under neath here is a deeper meaning the lover’s bed and room is as larger and variegated as the universe is.the lovers world is complete in stself.

She is all states and all princls I,

Nothing else is .

Princes do but play us: compared to this,

All honours mimic; all wealth alchemy.

Thou sun the world’s constructed thus,

Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be

To warm the world, that’s done in warning us.

Shine here to us and thou art everywhere

This bed thy centre is these walls thy sphere.

Ans:- Here is Metaphor in the first line.

     In a Metaphor…………..

Here the lover is compared to prince a while his beloved to the states or kingdom. Here it is implicitly said that the lovers are the princes of each other vast kingdom of mind.

 Here are more metaphors in 4^th line in ‘honor’s mimic’ and ‘wealth alchemy’.

              Honour is compared to a copy for comic show; also wealth is a mysterious change. Here the speaker means to say that both honour and wealth is worthless compared to love.

        Here is epigram is ‘thou sun………. contracted thus’.

            In an epigram…………..

       Here the shocking contradiction in the apparent meaning of the language that for how can sun be half happy compared to the lovers.

          Here the inner meaning suggest that the earth is round and the sun shines only half of earth at a line. On the other hand the lovers do shages the two halves of love sphere in a single room.

          The last line is a metaphor.

 In a metaphor……………….

         The lover’s room is stated as universe and their bed is the center. The sphere of this love universe is the wall. The lover bids the sun to revolve their room by which he can serve his duties. The point of comparison is in plied here.

    

     Ardhendu De

Ref: 1. History of English Literature- Albert, 

      2. The Concise Cambridge History of English Literature

      3. Microsoft Students’ Encarta