Thy beams, so reverend and strong
Why shouldst thou think?
Reference:- These lines have been taken from the poem “The Sun Rising” written by John Donne in 1633. It is a typical metaphysical love poem. The poet describes that how the beam of sun disturbs him and his beloved like an intruder or unwelcomed guest, an Intruder here refers to the “Sun”.
Context:- . In this poem, Donne describes his beloved and himself wake up together, he also describes his fear that someone will walk in on to them, the unwelcomed guest, intruder but that unwelcomed guest is not his father, nor his boss nor a London stranger but the ‘Sun’. The poet treats the ‘Sun’ as a person in the poem.
In the poem, “The Sun Rising”, Donne refers to sun and says that the beams of the sun are so revered and strong that wakes up his beloved. Seeing “beams” followed by “strong” give a metaphorical sense of wooden beams, making the reference feel less frilly and more solid. It shows that Donne is praising the sun by saying its beams revered and strong.
Critical Comments:- The poem is based on theme like authority of love, nature and creation. Also, there is an irony to describe the presence of sun in the poem. The poet reverses our expectations to mock the sun as he questions “why would anyone think that”? by saying this, Donne withheld the verb and changed the normal syntax to create an effect on the reader.
Critics of John Donne’s “The Sun Rising” often noted that the poem’s displacement of the outside world in favor of two lovers inner world serves to support its overall theme, also the centrality of human love a permanent physical universe.
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