NON-AFRICAN POETRY
Comment on the imagery in “The Sunne Rising
Explanation
"The Sunne Rising" is ostensibly a confrontation between a lover and the rising sun. in the encounter the poet employs various images. The opening lines conjure a powerful image of intrusion. The sun is presented as an intruder who 'through windows and through curtains call on us'. The visitor is clearly unwelcome. The sun's intrusion actually makes the poet angry and he resorts to harsh words: "Busie old fool, unruly sunne". The sun is presented in the image of a busy-body who should take his meddlesome familiarity elsewhere - to rebuke 'late school boyes' sowre prentices' or provide service to 'court-huntsmen'. The image of the sun's powerful beam and his wink which can "eclipse" the sun is an interesting conceit. The poet patronizingly declines to pursue his challenge with the excuse that, he cannot afford to lose his mistress' sight.
Yet another image is that which involves the sun's age - "thine age askes ease" – as it performs its duty to shine on the whole world. By another metaphysical conceit, the whole world is shrunk into the poet's bedroom - "these walls" with the poet and his mistress at the centre. Thus by shining upon them, the sun reduces its labour of shining on the whole world which has now become the poet's bedroom. Reference can also be made to the image of the poet and his mistress as embodying all the riches of the world. This is seen in the lines - "she's all States, and all Princes, I, / Nothing else is". Thus, honour, prestige, wealth are possessed by them and the sun does well by providing services to them alone.