The Sun Rising: Motifs

Astronomical References

The speaker makes several references to astronomical concepts and phenomena as part of his rhetorical strategy of one-upmanship. Consider the opening of the second stanza (lines 11–14):

Thy beams, so reverend and strong
Why shouldst thou think?
I could eclipse and cloud them with a wink,
But that I would not lose her sight so long

The speaker starts by appearing to compliment the sun for the power of its “beams” of light, “so reverend and strong.” Then, in an amusing reversal, the speaker insists that he, a mere human, “could eclipse and cloud [those beams] with a wink.” His use of the word eclipse here is clever, since it specifically references the blocking of one celestial body by another. However powerful the sun may be, the speaker can overshadow it. The other astronomical references in the poem also express the speaker’s dominance. Take the speaker’s question in line 4: “Must to thy motions lovers' seasons run?” The speaker asks about the sun’s “motions,” which create days, nights, and the seasons. He wonders if these temporal patterns are all-powerful, and his implicit answer is, clearly, “No.” Once again, the speaker uses an astronomical reference to display his dominance over the sun and to assert the ultimate authority of love.

References to Nobility and Empire

The second and third stanzas of “The Sun Rising” feature several references to nobility and to the notion of an empire. In lines 16–20, the speaker introduces the image of his bedroom as a far-reaching kingdom:

Look, and tomorrow late, tell me,
Whether both th’ Indias of spice and mine
Be where thou leftst them, or lie here with me.
Ask for those kings whom thou saw'st yesterday,
And thou shalt hear, All here in one bed lay.

The speaker’s comment about “th’ Indias of spice and mine” is key here. The India of “spice” refers to East India, whereas the India of “mine” (i.e., gold) refers to the West Indies. Though both regions would eventually come under British control as part of its global empire, they were initially seen as destinies for trade. But within Donne’s own lifetime, trade operations quickly escalated to occupation. By the time “The Sun Rising” was published, in 1633, the British had already established numerous factories in East India and had taken control of more than one island in the West Indies. Donne’s references are obliquely related to these historical events, and hence the speaker’s bedroom serves as a microcosm of this burgeoning British Empire. The speaker takes this trope further in lines 21–24:

She’s all states, and all princes, I,
Nothing else is.
Princes do but play us; compared to this,
All honor's mimic, all wealth alchemy.

Just as his lover encompasses “all states,” the speaker encompasses all princes. He is thus the ultimate ruler of this and indeed all empires, which ensures his rhetorical triumph over the sun.

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