sun rising from the horizon wording
Due to Earth’s atmosphere and local topography, the sun tends to rise and set at roughly the same point on your horizon without much fluctuation in height. This phenomenon is called refraction.
In this poem, the speaker personifies the sun in order to displace its authority over himself and his lover. He depicts it as an unruly old man with human traits who has an active lifestyle and lazy disposition.
1. The Busy Old Fool
Donne personifies the sun as an impatient old busybody who frequently interrupts his lover by coming through windows and curtains into their bedroom and disrupting sleep. While this portrayal may be ageist, Donne’s honesty as a writer makes this so powerfully true (and an incredible read).
This constant interruption by the sun frustrates them to such an extent that they ask why it bothers them so much: “Must lovers’ seasons run their course? And hours, days and months be counted by us” (lines 1-4).
The speaker desires to subvert the laws of nature in order to elevate their love affair above everything else, using personification of the sun in order to deflate its ego and strip away its authority. It is a striking poem which elevates love as paramount over social rank or work productivity – one of Donne’s best examples of metaphysical love poetry! You can read it fully here. Please note: the sun does not actually move across the horizon every day due to slight variations in earth orbit – you can track this by observing from same spot each morning and comparing with previous days – this can help keep track of this shift by keeping an eye on this page! NB: it seems as though due to slight variations caused by slight variations of earth orbit, it does seem shift up or down gradually throughout each day – you can track this by watching from same spot each morning and comparing with previous days by tracking it!
2. The Unruly Sun
Line three sees the narrator characterizing the sun as “busy old fool, unruly sun.” By making it seem as though this sun does not respect either him nor his lover, the poet strips its power away.
The sun’s incessant motion across the sky annoys and upsets the narrator, interfering with his plans for the day. To counteract these disruptive forces of nature, he orders that it only shine on himself and his lover – thus elevating love above duty, work, and even nature’s natural rhythms of the day.
Prehistoric cultures frequently tracked the rising and setting points of the sun by using geographical features along the horizon to mark dates for solstices and equinoxes, such as standing stones, tree poles, rock cairns or even just their lineage itself as markers for solstices and equinoxes.
In line four, the narrator asks the sun whether it would be “foolish” of it to think that its beams are revered and strong when in reality it is “only a sun.” By asking this question he implies that he could easily eclipse and cloud over its light if desired.
3. The Powerful Sun
Timing solstices requires tracking the daily path of the sun across the horizon; to do this effectively requires using an astronomical instrument called a gnomon. Also useful for marking equinoxes, watching its setting provides an easy way of timing them too; you can measure this movement of azimuth by comparing its position with geographical features like mountains or lakes.
The title, which compares the speaker to Jesus upon His Resurrection, symbolizes their desire to go against universal laws. This poem blends social satire, sermon, holy sonnet and erotica love poetry forms into an eclectic piece that makes an audacious statement about control of one’s own life as well as those with whom they share bedspace. Rhyme schemes and established forms add another layer to underline this point.
At first, instead of banishing the sun from their bedroom, the speaker redefines its role by using its warmth to heat their bedroom instead. By doing so, he asserts his authority over both sun and universe as well as over his lover; by changing and revising their rules of the universe to his advantage he elevates himself above God, who at that time was considered all-powerful and divine.
4. The Happy Sun
Sunrise occurs each morning as the upper edge of the Sun’s disk rises over the horizon in its daily orbit around Earth and Moon, depending on which season and place this happens in. When exactly this occurs varies greatly due to Earth’s tilt, daily rotation and solar and lunar orbital cycles; as well as other influences.
Donne’s poem’s speaker subverts power by turning the sun into his servant. However, this move goes beyond vanity: by seizing sunlight for himself and his lover alone, he puts global productivity on hold.
Donne used “thine” instead of the more formal “your”, which was more respectful in his day, to emphasize that he considered himself more powerful than the sun and must be revered by it. Furthermore, his title invokes Christ upon His Resurrection suggesting that the speaker himself is god who must be worshiped by his audience.
5. The Kingly Sun
On March and September equinoxes, it appears as if the Sun rises and sets due east due to Earth’s axial tilt and daily rotation, plus their combined revolutions around one another. But its actual movement is more complex; accurate predictions of sunrise and sunset require knowledge of an analemma.
Anciently, the winged sun was an icon of power and divinity; a clear signpost to all types of rulers: “kings, princes, emperors, dukes, marquises, barons, lieutenants and others of high rank”.
Twilight refers to the time before and after sunrise and sunset when striking colors and atmospheric effects remain visible. It’s divided into civil twilight and astronomical dawn; with civil twilight being darker. Astronomical dawn marks an essential time in transition from night to day, meaning this term comes from Latin meaning “twilight of the eyes.” During twilight the Sun seems less bright due to light from its lower edge being refracted more than light coming through from above;
