Comparative Essay The Sun Rising And Sonnet 130

Essay question: what valuable ides are conveyed in the two valuable poems you have chosen to discuss and how the ideas are presented.

Poetry conveys emotions, ideas and structure and can persuade and transform one’s view on important topics that affect our generation and will continue to affect generations to come. In John Donne’s metaphysical poem ‘The Sun Rising’, he explores the valuable idea of love being stronger than time as love surpasses all boundaries. In contrast, Shakespeare’s sonnet 130 explores the reality of love being in the eye of the beholder and that true love is a chemistry that cannot be defined. Both of these poems, although from diverse eras, study the valuable notion of love and its true complexity.

Time is undefeatable and no matter what humans try to do, time will always win as it has the power in the universe, however, love is a chemistry between two people or things that has the potential to beat time. In Donne’s poem ‘The Sun Rising’, the poet challenges the suns power in the cosmos and puts his and his lovers love on a higher and more powerful level creating the valuable idea that love surpasses all authorities. ‘Love, all alike, no season knows nor clime, nor hours, days, months, which are the rags of time.’ This is the last set of lines in the first stanza and already, the audience can see how the poet is confronting the sun and its unfair advantage. The use of the comma after the word love puts emphasis on the word, which helps communicate the message of love being important and superior to time. The diction in the second line is extremely belittling towards the sun as by using the derogatory term ‘Rags of time’, the poet is contrasting the insignificance of the sun compared to their transcendental love. The poet speaks in a very confident tone that can be seen as arrogance as he is trying to invert the structure and logic of the universe by having love being a stronger force than time. ‘Whether both th’ Indias of spice and mine’, this quote, as well as having the valuable concept of love being exotic like spices and places, it gives an idea of the context; the age of discovery. In the metaphysical period, new countries were being discovered such as India and this line subtlety helps the time to be known. The language always help the time and place to be understood as the word th’ was commonly used in poetry in this time period, however, now people do not use this word let alone know what it means. By comparing his love to exotic places and spices, the poet is stating that the beauty of the world is embodied in chemistry between two people rather than the suns ability to create day and night. As can be seen through these examples, Donne’s valuable concept of love being the strongest power in the world is portrayed very well through constant language techniques and description of context. Although time controls many things in the cosmos, the sun does not have to govern love, as love is a passion shared with two people, which is a valuable concept that future generations need to know about.
True love is an indefinable chemistry that transcends the physical. Shakespeare’s sonnet 130 explores the valuable idea of love being in the eye of the beholder by stating all the unpleasant physicality’s of his lover but then saying how much he doesn’t care because he truly loves her for who she is. ‘If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun’. This is the second line of the sonnet and the audience is already exposed to the context as the last word in the line is dun which was a word said in the Elizabethan era meaning grey and dull. Considering the fact that in modern society we do not use this word in our vocabulary, it helps to understand the time in which this sonnet was written. The alliteration in ‘if snow be white, why’, is very effective as it puts emphasis on the question why his mistress isn’t appealing physically. Although this question is being inquired, Shakespeare is not complaining, as he believes that love is about personality and the inside rather than the aesthetic beauty of ones looks. ‘And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare, as any she belied with false compare’. These are the final two lines of the sonnet and the use of a couplet at the end is very enchanting as it provokes thoughts of sweetness and the happiness of having love in your life. The use of assonance with the words rare and compare creates a beautiful and magical atmosphere, as the vowel sounds are slow and fluid with a positive vibe being emitted. This sonnet written by Shakespeare deeply explores the valuable idea of beauty being in the eye of the beholder and the fact that love is a passion that one person has for another whether it be based on their looks or personality. This concept is extremely valuable for todays society to appreciate and take from as many people only love someone for their appearance however love is more than that and love itself truly is valuable and indefinable.

In conclusion, valuable ideas are conveyed in every poem from every era as all the poets have precious knowledge that they share through their poems. Donne’s metaphysical poem ‘The Sun Rising’ and Shakespeare’s sonnet 130 explore love in depth from two different perspectives; love is the strongest power in the universe and it can beat time as love surpasses all boundaries and that love transcends the physical as it is a chemistry between two people based on passion and magical moments. Both poets achieve these valuable concepts to be portrayed through use of language techniques and context.