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Donne’s Poetry

To understand where “The Sun Rising” sits within Donne’s broader poetic output, please consult this guide, which provides an analytical overview.

Andrew Marvell, “To His Coy Mistress”

Like Donne, Marvell is often considered a metaphysical poet, and the brilliant conceits that appear throughout “To His Coy Mistress” help explain why. The shared interest in surprising conceits is enough to make these two poems worthy companion pieces. Both poems also feature examples of overstatement. Although the overstatement in Marvell’s poem is more obviously comic, Donne’s use of the device also brings a humorous quality to his poem.

Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “How Do I Love Thee?” (Sonnet 43)

Though written more than two centuries after “The Sun Rising,” Browning’s poem shares with Donne’s an interest in expressing the all-encompassing reach of love. The poems are also worth reading together to compare their use of the sonnet form. Whereas “How Do I Love Thee?” is a traditional sonnet, Donne’s poem features stanzas that playfully rework the sonnet form.

Previous section Historical and Literary Context

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