A Red, Red Rose Robert Burns
Robert Burns (1759-1796) was
a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is
considered the national poet of
Scotland and a central figure in
Scottish literature. His father was
a tenant farmer, and Burns worked
as a plowboy. He grew up poor but
well-read and began writing poetry
in Scottish dialect. As an adult, he
was as unsuccessful as his father in
making a living at farming.
In 1791, however, he quit farming for good and moved his family to the nearby
town of Dumfries. Never in good health, on the morning of July 21, 1796, he died in
Dumfries at the age of 37. He is best known as a pioneer of the Romantic Movement
for his lyrical poetry.
The poem 'A Red, Red Rose' is a lyrical ballad that describes the speaker’s deep
love for his beloved and promises that this love will last longer than human life. The
beloved of the speaker is as beautiful as the red rose and as sweet as the music. With
the help of the literary devices, the poet has sketched a very vivid and realistic picture
of his profound love.
Reading
O, my love is like a red, red rose,
That’s newly sprung in June.
O, my love is like the melody,
That’s sweetly play’d in tune.
246 English: Grade 11
As fair art thou, my bonny lass,
So deep in love am I,
And I will love thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry.
Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun!
And I will love thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.
And fare thee weel, my only love,
And fare thee weel a while!
And I will come again, my love,
Tho’ it were ten thousand mile!
Glossary
a’(det.): short form of the word ‘all’
art (v.): an older form of the word ‘are’
bonny (adj.): attractive, beautiful
gang (v.): ‘go’ in Scottish
lass (n.): a girl or young woman
o’ (prep.): short form of the word ‘of’
weel (adj.): an older form of the word ‘well’
thee (pro.): an older form of the word ‘you’
tho’ (conj.): though
thou (pro.): an older form of the word ‘you’
wi’ (prep.): short form of the word ‘with’
Summary
The poem opens with the speaker comparing his beloved to a red rose which blooms in June and to the melody that is sweetly played in tune. He claims that his beloved is so beautiful that he loves her with a deep and strong passion. He will love her until the seas dry up, the rocks melt in the sun and he is alive. He bids farewell to her and promises to return to her even if he is supposed to cover a distance of ten thousand miles.
Understanding the text
Answer the following questions.
a. To which two things does the speaker compare his love in the first stanza?
Two things the speaker compares his love in the first stanza are red rose and melody (mu
b. What does the speaker promise in the second and third stanzas?
In the second and third stanzas, the speaker promises that he will love his beloved until the seas become dry, the rocks melt in the sun and he is alive.
c. What imagery does he use in his promise, and why do you think he uses such
language?
In his promise, he uses hyperbolic imagery. He uses such language to express the intensity of his love for his beloved.
d. In the last stanza, what event is about to happen by mentioning the number of
miles?
The speaker and his beloved are going to separate.
e. Which image in the poem do you find the most memorable or surprising and
why?
The image of dry seas and melted rocks is the most memorable or surprising because this exaggeration makes us realize the speaker’s devotion to his his beloved and eternity of his love for her
Reference to the context
a. What can you infer about the speaker’s devotion to his beloved from the following
lines?
And I will come again, my love,
Tho’ it were ten thousand mile!
The given lines express the speaker’s profound love for his beloved. The speaker says farewell to her, and at the same time promises that he returns to her even if he has to cover a distance of 10 thousand miles. This promise shows that no obstacles can separate the speaker from her. It seems that the speaker’s powerful love for his beloved makes any earthly hardship insignificant.
b. What is the theme of the poem?
The poem has the themes of love and passion. The poem is basically concerned with the speaker’s deep love for his beloved. He praises her beauty and expresses his inestimable love for her. His love will remain forever no matter what happens. He bids goodbye to her before they separate, and promises he will come to her even covering the distance of ten thousand miles.
c. Paraphrase the whole poem into simple prose form.
My beloved, you are like a red rose which newly blooms in summer, and sweet melody played in tune. You are very fair and beautiful. I am deeply fall in love with you. I will love you till the seas go dry, the rocks melt with the heat of the sun, and I am alive. Now, I bid farewell to you, but I promise I will return even if I have to travel ten thousand miles.
d. Literary devices are tools that enable the writers to present their ideas, emotions,
and feelings and also help the readers understand those more profound meanings.
Analyse the poem in terms of the literary devices such as simile, symbolism,
imagery, alliteration, and assonance.
Analyse the poem in terms of the literary devices such as simile, symbolism, imagery, alliteration, and assonance.
The poet employs several literary devices to show the beauty of his beloved and the power of his love. They are simile, symbolism, imagery, alliteration, and assonance.
The first literary tool used in the poem is simile. It is an expression which describes one thing comparing it with another, using words as or like. The poem begins with two similes. They are used when the speaker compares his beloved with a red rose and sweet melody.
Symbolism is another figure of speech, used in the poem. The rose is a traditional symbol of love. In the poem, the rose symbolizes love between the speaker and his beloved. This symbolism dates back to ancient Greek literature, which associates the rose with Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love.
In the poem, imagery is created with simile and hyperbole. There is a visual picture of a red rose in our mind when the speaker compares his beloved with a red rose. When he equates her to the sweet melody, auditory imagery is used. Comparisons of both the rose and the melody shows his beloved lovely, sweet, new, and young. To convey the intensity of his affection, he then switches to hyperbolic images, by expressing that he will love until the seas become dry and the rocks melt in the sun. We can view the world of dry seas and melted rocks in our mind.
The poet makes use of alliteration and assonance to emphasize his powerful feelings of love for his beloved.
Alliteration is found in the line ‘O, my love is like a red, red rose.’ It has the repetition of the consonant sounds /l/ and /r/. Assonance is a literary device in which the repetition of vowel sounds occurs in the same line. In the line ‘And I will love thee still, my dear’, the vowel sound /i/ is repeated.
f. What is refrain? Why is it used in the poem? Explain citing an example from the poem.
A refrain is a phrase or line recurring at intervals in a poem or song, usually at the end of a stanza. The poet has used this device to establish the meter of the poem, and indicate its romantic tone. As the line, ‘And I will love thee still, my dear,’ has been repeated in the second and the third stanzas, it has become a refrain. When this line recurs in the poem, it becomes noticeable to the readers
e. What is hyperbole? Explain its purpose by citing examples of hyperbole used in the
poem.
Hyperbole is a figure of speech used to exaggerate a statement for the sake of emphasis. This technique is used to emphasize how deeply he loves his beloved. The exaggeration happens in the lines ‘Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear’ and ‘And the rocks melt wi’ the sun!’. It is literally impossible to say that the seas dry up and the rocks melt in the sun. The poet uses the line to show the eternity of his love for his beloved.
f. What is refrain? Why is it used in the poem? Explain citing an example from the
poem.
A refrain is a phrase or line recurring at intervals in a poem or song, usually at the end of a stanza. The poet has used this device to establish meter of the poem, and indicate its romantic tone. As the line, ‘And I will love thee still, my dear,’ has been repeated in the second and the third stanzas, it has become a refrain. When this line recurs in the poem, it becomes noticeable to the readers
Reference beyond the text
a. What kind of love is expressed in "A Red, Red Rose"?
b. Do you think that love has power? Why do the poets compose poems addressing
their beloved?
c. Poetry is the expression of feelings and emotions. Explain.
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