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The Annotated Edition

The Sun Rising by John Donne

Summary, meaning, line-by-line analysis & FAQ.

A man wakes up beside the woman he loves and feels irritated by the sunlight streaming through the curtains, disrupting their moment.

Poet
John Donne
Year
1633
Form
lyric
The PoemFull text

The Sun Rising

John Donne, 1633

Busie old foole, unruly Sunne, Why dost thou thus, Through windowes, and through curtaines call on us? Must to thy motions lovers seasons run? Sawcy pedantique wretch, goe chide 5 Late schoole boyes, and sowre prentices, Goe tell Court-huntsmen, that the King will ride, Call countrey ants to harvest offices; Love, all alike, no season knowes, nor clyme, Nor houres, dayes, moneths, which are the rags of time. 10 Thy beames, so reverend, and strong Why shouldst thou thinke? I could eclipse and cloud them with a winke, But that I would not lose her sight so long: If her eyes have not blinded thine, 15 Looke, and to morrow late, tell mee, Whether both the'India's of spice and Myne Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with mee. Aske for those Kings whom thou saw'st yesterday, And thou shalt heare, All here in one bed lay. 20 She'is all States, and all Princes, I, Nothing else is. Princes doe but play us; compar'd to this, All honor's mimique; All wealth alchimie. Thou sunne art halfe as happy'as wee, 25 In that the world's contracted thus; Thine age askes ease, and since thy duties bee To warme the world, that's done in warming us. Shine here to us, and thou art every where; This bed thy center is, these walls, thy spheare. 30

Public domain

Sourced from Project Gutenberg

§01Quick summary

What this poem is about

A man wakes up beside the woman he loves and feels irritated by the sunlight streaming through the curtains, disrupting their moment. He insists that love is so strong it surpasses time, kings, and even the sun itself. By the end, he has convinced himself that their bed is the very center of the universe.

§02Themes

Recurring themes

§03Line by line

Stanza by stanza, with notes

  1. Busie old foole, unruly Sunne, / Why dost thou thus,

    Editor's note

    The speaker starts off by berating the sun, labeling it a nosy, meddlesome old fool. He's infuriated that sunlight is sneaking through the windows and curtains into what should be a private, timeless haven with his lover. He poses a pointed rhetorical question: why should lovers be bound by the sun's timetable? The last two lines deliver the stanza's main assertion — love transcends time altogether, and hours, days, and months are merely "the rags of time," tattered remnants that hold no relevance here.

  2. Thy beames, so reverend, and strong / Why shouldst thou thinke?

    Editor's note

    The speaker shifts from anger to mockery, claiming he could block the sun's renowned rays just by closing one eye — but he won't do that, as he wouldn't want to miss a moment with his lover. Then, he completely flips the power dynamic by suggesting that his lover's eyes are so dazzling they might have already blinded the sun. He dares the sun to check if the treasures of the Indies (spices from the East, gold from the West) are still where it left them or if they now reside in the woman next to him. As for the kings the sun saw yesterday? They’re all here in this bed, he says — implying that his lover holds all the wealth and power of the world.

  3. She'is all States, and all Princes, I, / Nothing else is.

    Editor's note

    This final stanza presents the poem's boldest claim. The speaker asserts that his lover *is* every nation on earth, while he embodies every ruler — everything else is mere imitation. True honor and genuine wealth exist only in their love; everything beyond it is just an act and fool's gold. Then, he makes a clever shift: instead of battling the sun, he flatters it. The sun, being old and weary, has the simple task of warming the world, and it can fulfill that role just by shining on them — because they *are* the entire world. The poem concludes by placing their bed at the center of the universe, with the walls of their bedroom defining the sun's orbit.

§04Tone & mood

How this poem feels

Playful and full of swagger, with genuine intensity beneath the surface. Donne starts off with clear irritation—he's really annoyed—but that anger swiftly turns into a playful contest of wits. The speaker is just as much trying to impress his lover as he is arguing with the sun. By the third stanza, the tone shifts to something almost tender, even as the boasting grows bolder. The entire poem radiates the energy of someone so joyful that they feel unstoppable.

§05Symbols & metaphors

Symbols & metaphors

The Sun
The sun represents the outside world and its demands: schedules, responsibilities, authority, and the relentless march of time. By speaking to it directly and brushing it aside, the speaker chooses to prioritize love over all these pressures.
The Bed / The Room
The lovers' bed becomes the literal center of the universe. It begins as a private refuge that gets invaded, and ultimately transforms into the only place that truly matters — the sun's new orbit.
The Indies (spice and mine)
The East Indies, known for their spices, and the West Indies, famous for gold and silver mines, represented the height of wealth during Donne's time. By saying his lover embodies both, the poem delivers its grandest compliment — she surpasses all the riches that the trade routes of the known world could provide.
Her Eyes
Her eyes outshine the sun. They hold a light and strength that's more genuine and enduring than anything in nature.
Rags of Time
Hours, days, and months are referred to as "rags" — tattered, insignificant remnants. This imagery implies that traditional time feels worn out and unworthy of love's attention.

§06Form & structure

Form & structure

Form
lyric

§07Historical context

Historical context

John Donne composed this poem in the late 1590s or early 1600s, during a time when he was working on his *Songs and Sonnets* — a collection that circulated among friends in manuscript form long before its official printing. Donne belonged to a generation of English poets who were disillusioned with the idealized, distant love typical of the Petrarchan tradition. They aimed to portray love as something physical, witty, and genuine. "The Sun Rising" is a prime example of the *aubade*, a dawn poem where lovers either lament or, in this instance, resist the morning's arrival that separates them. Donne wrote during a period in London influenced by the courts of Elizabeth I and James I, a time when the sun's rising truly dictated the rhythms of court life, commerce, and labor. His references to the new astronomy (with the sun at the center of the solar system) and global trade routes (like the Indies) reflect a poet deeply engaged with the expanding and often unsettled world around him.

§08FAQ

Questions readers ask

It's a lyric poem in the tradition of the *aubade* — a dawn song. Aubades explore the feelings of lovers at daybreak, often expressing sorrow over the morning's arrival and the separation it brings. Donne puts a twist on this form by having his speaker insist that they won't accept the separation, instead claiming that the sun should revolve around *them*.

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Themes in this poem

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