The Sun Rising Analysis

The form of this poem doesn't have a specific name, but it is very formal. The poem is constructed of three ten-line stanzas and each stanza is constructed the same way.Lines 1, 5, and 6 of each st...

The speaker of this poem is classic John Donne. That doesn't mean that this is how we would expect John Donne to speak if we saw him walking down the street (that would just be awkward), but this v...

The setting of the poem is pretty obvious from the beginning—we figure out all too quickly that the speaker is in bed with his lady just as the mean old sun begins to rise and spoil their night.A...

Donne is known for his clever wit. That's not limited to his images or his arguments—it applies to they way he plays with sound, too.Yes, there are three ten-line stanzas in this poem, but really...

John Donne is a really punny guy. Not only that, he wrote some deeply religious poems. So, at first glance, we're tempted to immediately assume that a poem titled "The Sun Rising" is going to be ab...

WitWe mentioned it in the "Why Should I Care?" section, but John Donne has swag. The more literary term for this is wit—that cleverness, that certainty in your own skill. His tone is often brash...

There's no way around it: John Donne is tough. He lived four hundred years ago and loves to show off by making complicated arguments. His images tend to shift pretty rapidly and he isn't afraid to...

John Donne did jail time for his marriage to Ann More. Maybe he isn't a perfect role model, but the guy knew a thing or two about love. (Source.)Billy Collins wrote a poem about trying to memorize...

We're as shocked as anyone, but John Donne wrote a love poem without veering off into sexual innuendos. Yep, as un-Donne as it is, other than the setting (two lovers waking up in the same bed), thi...

Line 7 refers to a king riding out on a hunt, giving a shout-out to the reigning King James, who was known as a sportsman.The "Indias of spice and mine" in line 17 refer to India in Asia, famed as...