The poem means that true lovers are inseparable by the intruders and even the nature of the world. John Denn, the poet, sets the poem around the nature of the world and the effect it has on the relationships. In this case, he elaborates that it is impossible for the nature to have two lovers separate from each other. For instance, he provides that the sun cannot separate them from their love and thus he and his lover cannot leave their matrimonial bed (Denn 80). The poem revolves around love from the beginning to the end, with the tone regarding the nature changing to the end. In the beginning, nature, represented by the sun, is taken as an intruder and a potential love breaker. Towards the end, the poet regards the sun as a source of warmth for their love, which should never get away from them.
John Denn, therefore, uses various elements to pass home his message. Each of the elements used has a respective meaning in passing home the message. First, John uses the sun, referring to it as being unruly and an old fool (Denn 81). In this case, he uses the sun to represent the nature of the world, and more importantly the time. The sun intrudes the lovers by penetrating into their house when morning comes. Therefore, the poet curses the sun as it attempts to separate the two from the good time on their bed (Bolton n.p). He, therefore, refers to the sun as the unruly old fool as it cannot be stopped from getting its rays on them. This means that the lovers have no control over time even though they would feel better in its absence.
The poet also uses the late school boys and the prentices to illustrate the lovers that are unwilling to wake up even though morning sets in. prentices are people that are considered to be lazy to change from one thing to another (Gale n.p). He uses them to refer to the reluctance that he and his lover have in deciding to get out of bed. He and his lover consider going against the order of nature that requires them to wake up. Instead, they prefer staying in their bed and enjoy their love the more.
The poet also uses king as an element in the poet to refer to himself. In this case, he takes the position of the ruler who cannot be swayed by the occurrences regarding the decision to make. In this case, he considers the sun to be the intruder into his palace. He, therefore, considers himself as being stronger than the sun. For this reason, he suggests that the king will ride, meaning that he will continue enjoying a good time with her lover irrespective of sun’s presence.
The poem uses the rags of time as an element. In this case, the rags of time illustrate how useless time is compared to the bonding of the two lovers. Rags are used to show that days, months and even years cannot define the level of their love. The lovers are seen to have an upper hand in determining when to love more and when not to.
Alchemy is an element used by the poet to illustrate the changing nature of the sun from a bad aspect into a good one (Donne 80). In the beginning, the poet considers the sun as an intruder that brings discomfort to them. In the end, the sun is considered as a good company for the lovers as it warms them as well the world around them. Alchemy, therefore, means that the sun has changed from being an intruder and now forms part of the love journey for the couple. The poet, therefore, uses the poem to illustrate the impossibility of breaking apart true lovers.
Works cited
Bolton, Chelsea Luellon. Sun, Star and Desert Sand: Poems for the Egyptian Gods. Lulu. com, 2017.
Donne, John. “The sun rising.” The Complete English Poems(2002): 80-81.
Gale, Cengage Learning. A Study Guide for Linda Pastan’s” I Am Learning to Abandon the World”. Gale, Cengage Learning, 2016.
