5 yrs CN Supplier
The Sun Rising
Whether both th’ Indias of spice and mine both th’ Indias of spice and mine the East Indies for spices and the West Indies for gold. In a 1623 letter to Sir Robert Ker, Donne wrote: “Your way into Spain was Eastward, and that is the way to the land of Perfumes and Spices; their way hither is Westward, and that is the way to the land of Gold, and of Mynes.” [John Donne: Selected Prose. Edited by Helen Gardner and Timothy Healy, p. 155]
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.
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 alchemy figuratively, not the real thing. The speculative practice of alchemy involved a search for chemically turning base metals, such as iron, into highly valuable metals, such as gold. .
Thou, sun, art half as happy as we,
In that the world’s contracted thus.
Thine age asks ease, and since thy duties be
To warm the world, that’s done in warming us.
Shine here to us, and thou art everywhere;
This bed thy center is, these walls, thy sphere.
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This Poem has a Poem Guide
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Audio
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From Poetry Off the Shelf October 2009
Teaching John Donne’s poem “The Sun Rising.”
Audio
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From Audio Poem of the Day June 2021
John Donne (read by Michael Stuhlbarg)
Writing Ideas
1. “The Sun Rising” is an aubade: a poem greeting the dawn, often involving lovers reluctant to separate. Using Donne’s poem as inspiration, write a modern aubade. For more contemporary models, read one of the following:
“Aubade” by Amber Flora Thomas
“An Aubade” by Joel Brouwer
“Aubade” by Philip Larkin
2. In “The Sun Rising,” Donne speaks to the sun using apostrophe, a rhetorical device in which he addresses an inanimate object (the sun) as if it were a person able to respond. Using apostrophe, write your own poem addressing an imaginary or absent object as if it were present and able to reply.
Discussion Questions
1. How does Donne’s speaker feel about the coming of dawn? Which words or phrases best suggest his attitude?
2. How does Donne compare the sun to a person? In his personification, what sort of person does Donne suggest the sun is? Is his comparison reasonable or absurd? Why or why not?
3. Donne begins the poem by telling the sun to go bother “late school boys” and “country ants” because it can have no effect on love. Where else does Donne use wit, irony, or wordplay in the poem? What effect does it have on your understanding of the poem’s message?
What relationship exists between the public and private spheres in the poem, and how does Donne distinguish between them? Which realm does Donne seem to privilege?
Teaching Tips
1. Before teaching, review Stephanie Burt’s poem guide. Also, have small groups of students research the following terms and share them with classmates before presenting the poem: John Donne, Copernicus, Galileo, Heliocentrism, Geocentrism, Aubade, Conceit, and Apostrophe; they can find the latter three terms defined in the Learning Area’s glossary, as well as a detailed biography of Donne linked next to the poem. Students may hyperlink their research terms to the poem to share on a class web site.
2. After paraphrasing the first stanza of the poem with your class, encourage students to read the text out loud multiple times as they work in small groups to paraphrase the other two stanzas, looking up words as necessary. Have volunteers from each group perform their paraphrase of the speaker’s address to the sun. Then in a large group debrief, create a class description of the moves Donne makes in each of the three stanzas of the poem. Start by asking what kind of speech act does the speaker perform in each stanza: warning, challenging, showing off, etc. What audiences are being addressed in each of the stanzas? How do these movements contribute to the overall meaning of the text?
3. Have students explore “Assumption of the Virgin,” the painting by Renaissance artist Lodovico Cigoli who was a close friend of Galileo’s. The first example of Galileo’s telescopic views of the moon to appear in visual art, the painting depicts the moon at the feet of the Virgin Mary. Have students discuss how scientific developments of the Renaissance may have shaped Cigoli’s painting and Donne’s imaginative portrayal of the speaker’s encounter with the sun in this aubade. Have them consider Donne’s speaker’s persona, perspective, and tone in light of the intellectual milieu of this period. Extend the discussion to include a comparison of a painting from the same period, “Landscape with the Fall of Icarus” by Pieter Bruegel, which depicts a very different relationship between human beings and heavenly bodies. W.H. Auden’s poem “Musée des Beaux Arts” comments on this painting.
4. After exploring the poem in the context of its intellectual origins, its genre (the aubade) and its formal elements (the apostrophe and the conceit), have students prepare a radio documentary or webcast in which a formal reading of the poem and an interpretive discussion are included. Models of interpretive discussions of poems such as William Blake’s “The Garden of Love” and Plath’s “Fever 103” are available.
Gift Guide
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Recommended For: All zodiac signs
Also Good For: Cancer, Leo; Anyone who needs to balance giving and receiving in life
Season: Timeless
Element: Water, Fire, Air
If You Know Your Chart, Recommended For: All Moon signs, all ascendant signs, multiple planets in fourth or fifth house, or any water, fire, or air sign emphasis
More About The Painting
In astrology, the two most important heavenly bodies are the Sun and the Moon. Also called the luminaries, they offer a living pageant of light: the Sun shines perpetually, sharing light freely with all creation, while the Moon reflects that light in varying amounts, depending on the lunar phase. In an astrological chart, the Sun’s sign and location indicate how an individual “shines her light,” while the Moon’s sign and location indicate what an individual needs so he can feel safe, emotionally secure, and at home in the world.
Part of our task lies in integrating our astrological Sun and Moon so that we balance thinking with feeling, giving with receiving, and doing with resting. The tranquil, happy expressions on both the Moon and the Sun in this painting hint at the peace and joy that come to us when we achieve balance.
In this painting, the Moon and Sun form a unity because they have been fused together while still retaining their individual uniqueness and appearance. The night sky at left and the day sky at right also form a unity: although one is dark and one is light, both are blue and both have tiny areas of unpainted paper that let the white paper show through to suggest the pure and dazzling light that exists in the spiritual world and gives birth to the material world. In addition, the paint on each side has swirled and pooled: on the night side at left, this effect suggests the universe’s abundant stars and cloudy nebulae, and on the day side these variations suggest clouds and the full spectrum of “sky blue” we see at different times, on different days, in different weather.
The 12 Rays, Astrology, And Alchemy
Together, the Moon and Sun send forth 12 rays. These coincide with the mystical number 12, which can be found in astrology’s 12 zodiac signs. Half these rays are silver and come forth from the Moon, while half are gold and come forth from the Sun. In astrology, half the zodiac signs represent the earth and water elements and are therefore receptive like the Moon; the other half of the signs represent the air and fire elements and are therefore active like the Sun.
This polarity or duality also comes through in astrology’s lunar and solar symbolism. The Moon rules the sign Cancer and is associated with women, mothers, childhood, memories, and deep sensitivity.The Sun rules the sign Leo and is associated with fathers, the inner child, creativity, and generosity. Together, humanity is both female and male, a cosmic unity of Moon and Sun.
Finally, this painting carries deep alchemical symbolism. The Moon is painted in shades of gray and blue along with silver, the metal associated with Cancer and the Moon. The Sun is painted in shades of yellow and orange as well as gold, the metal associated with Leo and the Sun. In our spiritual lives, these metals remind us of the need to purify ourselves so that we shine with pure silver and gold in all our thoughts, words, and actions.
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