Student Question

Summarize "It Was On That Day When the Sun’s Ray Was Darkened" and identify the poetic devices used.

Quick answer:

The speaker has been struck by Cupid’s arrow, and he laments that Love has taken over his heart.

Expert Answers

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In this poem, the speaker describes how he has been struck by Love's arrow on a day when "the sun's ray was darkened"—presumably, during a solar eclipse. The speaker personifies Love almost as a hunter, who strikes "blows" against the speaker and has taken a slightly dishonorable pride in finding...

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the speaker defenseless against his arrows. The speaker complains at the end of the poem that Love has not even shown his weapon to others who had their own weapons—that is, suggesting that Love does not come upon those who are wary of him and have protected themselves against his approach. By contrast, the speaker in this poem has allowed Love to enter through his eyes and finds its way to his heart because he did not think to guard himself against it.

The speaker addresses an unknown "Lady" for whom he has fallen and uses a semantic field of capture and imprisonment—"bound," "captured"—to continue the theme of being besieged, metaphorically speaking, by Love.

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