A Red Red Rose || Robert Burns || Compulsory English Grade 11

 

A Red, Red Rose

 

Robert Burns

§  Known as Rabbie Burns, Bard of Ayrshire or ploughman

§  Born in Scotland in 1759 and died in Dumfries in 1796 at the age of 37,

§  The son of a poor farmer father

§  Known as the National Poet of Scotland and a central figure of Romantic Movement in Scottish literature,

§  Continued farming in a partnership of his brother, but did not get success,

§  Planned to emigrate to Jamaica after failure in farming and love, but he gave up his plan after getting immense success in poetry writing,

§  He ruined his life of alcoholism,

§  His language is mixture of Scots and Southern English.

 

About the Poem:

§  It is a famous lyrical poem called ballad,

§  Ballad- it is about a romantic love written in four lined stanzas (quatrain)

§  Lyric is a song that is sung to the accompaniment of a musical instrument,

§  Ballad expresses a story about love, tragedy and patriotism etc

§  This poem is rich in figure of speech such as simile, images, symbol, hyperbole, repetition and alliteration

§  The poem glorifies love or this poem is about a romantic love,

§  Romantic love- beloved means to high emotion and physical separation can serve as a stimulant to ideal passion,

§  The beloved of the speaker is as beautiful as the red rose and as sweet as the music,

§  This poem is words sketch of the speaker’s profound love to his beloved,

§  Theme: love will last longer than a human life, or lovers die but the love never dies, beauty is transitory and love is eternal

§  Tone: optimistic/hopeful

§  The speaker describes his or her love—meaning either the person the speaker loves or the speaker's feelings of love for that person—as being as beautiful, vivid, and fresh as a flower that has just recently bloomed. This love is as sweet as a beautiful song played by a skilled musician.

§  The beloved is so beautiful that the speaker loves her with a deep and strong passion—so strong, in fact, that the speaker's love will last until the oceans have become dry.

§  Even after the seas have evaporated and the earth has decayed, the speaker will still love the beloved. This love will endure until their own lives have ended and even until all human life has ended.

§  The speaker concludes by saying goodbye to the beloved—who is, the speaker reminds her, the only person the speaker loves. The speaker wishes her well during their temporary separation. The speaker reaffirms his or her faithful love by promising to return even if the journey covers a very long distance and takes a very long time.

 

Structural Analysis:

v Simile:

v Rhyming

v Images

v Symbol

v Hyperbole

v Repetition

v Alliteration

 

Glossary

a’ – all

gang- go

o’ – of

tho’-though

Fair- beautiful/just

Tune- musical tune

Thou- you

Thee- you

Sprung- bloom

Melody-sweet music

Bonnie- beautiful/sweet heart

Lass- girl

Art-are

Wi’- with

 

Form:

The poem has the form of a ballad. It has four stanzas of four lines each (quatrains), with a rhyme scheme in each stanza of ABCB.

The ballad form is an old one in English poetry, dating back centuries. It began as an oral form: ballads were not written but passed down through performance, often set to musical tunes. In the later years of his life, Robert Burns took on the project of collecting traditional Scottish ballads and songs. He would visit Scottish villages in the country and transcribe the ballads he heard sung there. Burns based "A Red, Red Rose" on a ballad he heard in the country, and he commissioned a musical accompaniment for the words. To that end, lines 3-4 are almost a reference to the form of the poem itself. Because ballads are often set to music and sung, the poem itself like the sweet melody to which the speaker compares his or her love.

 

Rhyming Scheme

The poem has the rhyme scheme associated with the ballad form of:

ABCB

This rhyme scheme is maintained regularly through the whole poem—perhaps reflecting the fixed, secure nature of the speaker's love. A possible exception could be seen in stanzas 3 and 4: because the first and third lines of those stanzas end with the same word—"dear" and "dear"; "luve" and "luve"—their rhyme scheme could be considered ABAB. This is also called identical rhyme; in any case, this just adds extra emphasis to words of affection.

The end rhymes function to link the words that share the same sound. For instance, the rhyming words "sun" and "run" in lines 10 and 12 reinforce the idea that, as the sun's heat gets intense enough to melt the rocks; it will mean the end of all life on the planet. The rhymes of "awhile" and "mile" in lines 14 and 16 remind the beloved that no matter how long the journey is (up to ten thousand miles), it will still feel short in a certain sense (just a short while) because the separation will never be permanent; the speaker will always return.

 

“A Red, Red Rose” Speaker

Most basically, the speaker of the poem is someone who is in love with the poem's addressee. The beloved is addressed as "lass," a Scottish term for a young woman, but the gender and age of the speaker are unspecified. The poem was derived from an old country ballad that was passed down through oral performance, and it's likely that the original ballad was adaptable to be sung by performers of either gender.

Overall, the speaker is not given a lot of specific identifying characteristics. This anonymity more easily allows any performer or any reader to imagine him or herself as the speaker of the poem, as do the universal symbols of love (the rose, music) in the first stanza. The Scottish dialect in the poem ("bonnie lass," "gang dry," "fare thee weel") does suggest, however, that the speaker is Scottish.

In the first stanza, the speaker describes his or her love as being like a rose that is "newly sprung." This suggests that their romantic relationship has just begun. But in the final stanza, as the speaker is preparing to leave on an extended journey, he or she tells the beloved that she is their "only luve" and promises to return to her no matter how long the journey is. This suggests that there is already a high level of commitment and trust between the couple. It may not be that the relationship is new but that the speaker still feels the same passion and excitement about the relationship even after some time has passed.

 

 

“A Red, Red Rose” Setting

As is the case with the poem's speaker, the setting is rather ambiguous. The Scottish dialect in the poem such as "bonnie lass," "gang dry," "fare thee weel" suggests that the speaker is Scottish and that the poem may be set in Scotland, specifically in the countryside. The reference to the seas going dry is all the more powerful if the speaker and the beloved live in a country like Scotland where much of the land is close to the ocean; for people used to seeing or living close to the ocean, the image of the seas disappearing is all the more striking. The archaic dictions such as "art thou," "love thee" suggests that the poem may be set sometime in the past, or else in a remote area of the country where speech has not yet been modernized.

 

Analysis

 “A Red, Red Rose” begins by describing the speaker’s love for a beloved with images that are beautiful but not necessarily long-lasting. The speaker then affirms, however, that his or her love will outlast human life itself. Through the speaker’s paradoxical (but passionate) claims, the poem argues that true love is both constantly renewing and completely unchangeable.

The speaker begins by describing love in terms that are beautiful but that don’t immediately suggest permanence. The first lines compare the speaker’s love to “a red, red rose.” “Luve” could refer to the beloved, the person the speaker loves. It could also refer to the speaker’s feelings for this person. Saying the beloved is like a rose “newly sprung in June” emphasizes her beauty and youth. Meanwhile, saying that the speaker’s love for her is like a new rose implies that this is a new relationship, with all the freshness and excitement of a developing romance. Of course, a rose can only be “newly sprung” for a short time; June ends after thirty days, and flowers fade quickly. If the speaker’s love is just like a new rose, maybe it won’t last very long.

The speaker then says this love is like “a melody / That’s sweetly played in tune.” But again, instruments can go out of tune, just as flowers can fade. The newness and excitement of the speaker’s love initially make it seem somewhat unstable.

Then, however, the speaker goes on to emphasize how long this love will last. The speaker uses three images to measure how long these feelings of love will last: the seas going dry, the rocks melting, and the sands of life running out. These events could only occur after eons of time, if ever. It seems now that the speaker’s love, far from lasting only as long as a flower, will actually endure longer than human life. Although these conflicting descriptions of the speaker’s love sound like a paradox, the speaker continues to insist that true love really can embody these seemingly opposite qualities of newness and permanence.

In the final stanza, the speaker bids farewell to the beloved, as if the speaker is planning to leave on a journey. The beloved doesn’t need to worry, though, because the speaker promises to return, even if the journey is “ten thousand mile[s]” long. This promise implies that, just as long stretches of time could not exhaust the speaker’s love for the beloved, a long stretch of distance cannot keep the speaker from her. And the length of this journey now seems short—just “awhile”—compared to the near-infinite time the speaker’s love will last. It seems, then, that love like the speaker’s is powerful enough to make earthly obstacles (like physical distance) feel insignificant. That is, this love is reliable and constant, but it also feels fresh and exciting enough to adapt to changed circumstances. The moment of farewell in the final stanza highlights the speaker’s core argument: love that lasts forever is also love that allows for change over time.

 

 

Understanding the Text

a)    To which two things does the speaker compare his love in the first stanza?

Ans:-  “O My Love is Like a Red, Red Rose”, or “A Red, Red Rose” is a lyrical ballad written by a Scottish poet Robert Burns. This poem is about romantic love which lasts longer even after the doom of the world or human kind. The poem is written in four stanzas having four lines each. In the first stanza, the poet compares his bellowed with two things which are red rose and melody. There is the use of simile in which the comparison is made between two different things using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’. In the first comparison, the freshness, charming, beauty and attraction of a rose is compared with the freshness, charming, beauty and attraction of the lady. In the second comparison, her sweet and magical voice is compared with melodious tune of music. 

 

b)   What does the speaker promise in the second and the third stanza?

Ans:- In the second stanza of the poem ‘A Red, Red Rose’, by Robert Burns, there is a promise made by the speaker to his beloved who is his beautiful sweet heart. He loves her very much and his love never dies even though the world ends. In this promise of the speaker we find the use of hyperbole to make impossible things possible to show the intensity of his love to her. ‘Seas go dry’ which is impossible or this thing never happens until there is an end of the word. In another words, he promises that he will love her forever and ever even after his death.

 

c)    What imagery does he use in his promise, and why do you think he uses such language?

Ans:- Imagery means the mental picture arouse in our minds when we read the words in the poem. The speaker makes a promise that he love her forever and to show his intense love to her he uses the imagery of dry sea and melted rock. These images are used to exaggerate his promise in intense manner. Seas never go dry and the sun can never melt the rock but he says that he loves her until the seas go dry and until the sun melts the rock, this means his love is eternal and it never dies. I think he has used such images and hyperbolic language to convince his beloved that she is the only girl whom he loves a lot. Such kinds of promises are made by new lover to romanticize their love to each other.

 

d)   In the last stanza, what event is about to happen by mentioning the number of miles?

In the last stanza of the poem “A Red Rose”, the speaker directly addresses his beloved. This is time when there is going to be a physical distance between them. They are parting to each other but his beloved can’t tolerate this separation. To console and convince his beloved the speaker says, “An I will come again, my love, / Tho’ it were ten thousands mile!” This is also a hyperbole because it was impossible to cross a ten-thousand-mile distance during the time the poem was written. He wants to assure that he will come again.

 

e)    Which image in the poem do you find the most memorable or surprising and why?

Ans:- As we read the poem, we find that the poem is reach in literary devices or figure of speech. There is the use of simile, hyperbole, refrain and imagery. But the most striking aspect of the poem is the used of imagery.  The most striking and unusual images are dry seas and melted rock. We even can’t imagine of any sea going dry and any rock melting in the sun. He has used such surprising images to idealize his love to her. By bringing the impossible images, he wants to say that his love to her is immeasurable.

 

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 above lines are extracted from the famous lyrical ballad “A Red, Red Rose”, written by a Scottish poet Robert Burns. The poem expresses a deep love of the speaker to his beloved. The above lines are the last lines of the poem in which the speaker is promising to his beloved that he will come to meet her even if he is ten thousand miles away. When the speaker promises to return after a long journey, knowing the beloved will have aged in that time, the speaker reaffirms that his or her feelings will remain the same even though the beloved may grow less beautiful. The speaker concludes by bidding farewell to the beloved and promising to return to her, even if the journey is “ten thousand mile[s]” long. The beloved will likely be older, less youthful, and perhaps less beautiful by the time the speaker returns. Nevertheless, the speaker does promise to return, indicating that although the beloved may change, the speaker’s feelings will remain constant. Through the final promise, the poem indicates again that the love youthful beauty inspires need not end when youth itself ends.

 

b)   What is the theme of the poem?

The main subject matter or theme of the poem “A Red, Red Rose’ is love will last longer than a human life. In other words, the poet says that the physical union or separation does not matter, what matters the most is the union of two souls with the bond of eternal love. This poem also teaches us those lovers die physically but their love never dies. The poem begins with the description of physical beauty of his beloved and initially we infer that the speaker is attracted to her physical beauty. But when we read the whole poem, the speaker is not talking about physical love instead he is talking about eternal love which never dies even the beautiful lady become aged, and ugly. Because of his comparison of his beloved to strange and unusual things, we come to know that his love is permanent love.

 

c)    Paraphrase the whole poem into simple prose form.

The poet, very artistically draws a picture of his profound love. He paints this picture with intense emotions. The speaker compares his beloved with “a red rose” and “sweet melody” to intensify his deep feelings for her. He addresses her, proclaiming that his love will stay still until the seas dry up and the rocks melt with the sun because his beloved is so adorable. For some reasons, he has to go far away from her, but he promises to return even if he has to travel thousands of miles to win her back. What enchants the reader is the metaphorical representation of love through natural phenomena the sea and the sun.

 

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. Analyze the poem in terms of the literary devices such as simile, symbolism, imagery, alliteration and assonance.

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. Robert Burns has also used some literary elements in this poem to show the beauty of the beloved and the intensity of his love. The analysis of some of the literary devices used in this poem has been listed below.

Simile: Simile is a device used to compare an object or a person with something else to make the meanings clear to the readers. There are two similes used in this poem. The first is used in the first line, “O my Luve is like a red, red rose” Here, the poet compares his beloved with a red rose. The second is used in the third line, “O my Luve is like the melody”, and the poet compares his love with sweet melody.

Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sound of /l/ in “   And fare thee weel awhile!”.

Enjambment: Enjambment refers to the continuation of a sentence without the pause beyond the end of a line, couplet or stanza such as:

 

“O my love is like the melody,

That’s sweetly play’d in tune.

Symbolism: Symbolism means to use symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings different from their literal meanings. Robert has used “rose” as a symbol of love.

Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line such as the sounds of /l/ and /r/ in “O my Luve is like a red, red rose”.

Imagery: Imagery is a distinct representation of something that can be experienced or understood through five senses. Robert has used visual imagery in the poem such as, “O my Luve is like a red, red rose”,” And the rocks melt wi’ the sun” and “While the sands o’ life shall run”.

Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /i/ in “I will love thee still, my dear”.

 

e)    What is hyperbole? Explain its purpose citing examples of hyperbole used in the poem.

Hyperbole: Hyperbole is a device used to exaggerate a statement for the sake of emphasis. The poet has used hyperbole in the last line of the second stanza, “Till a’ the seas gang dry.” He says that his love will flow even when the seas dry up. The second is used in the third stanza, “And the rocks melt wi’ the sun.”

 

f)     What is refraining? Why is it used in the poem? Explain citing an example from the poem.

Refrain: The lines that are repeated again at some distance in the poems are called refrain. The line, “And I will love thee still, my dear” has become a refrain, as it has been repeated in second and the third stanzas.

 

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 feeling and emotions. Explain.

 

 

Analysis of Poetic Devices in “A Red, Red Rose”

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

• Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some line. There are four stanzas in this poem; each consists of four lines.
• Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here, each stanza is quatrain as the first one and the second one.
• Rhyme Scheme: The poem follows the ABCB rhyme scheme and this pattern continues throughout the poem.
• Iambic Trimeter: Iambic trimeter is a meter in which there are three iambs per line. For example, “That’s newly sprung in June.”
• Iambic Tetrameter: Iambic tetrameter is a meter in which there are four iambic feet per line. For example, “As fair art thou my bonnie lass.”
• Repetition: There is the repetition of the line, “I will love thee still, my dear” which has created musical quality in the poem.
• Refrain: The lines that are repeated again at some distance in the poems are called refrain. The line, “And I will love thee still, my dear” has become a refrain, as it has been repeated in second and the third stanzas.

Beauty, Youth, and Aging  “A Red, Red Rose” initially suggests that the speaker’s love is generated by the beloved’s youth and beauty—qualities that fade with time. The speaker then affirms, however, that these temporary qualities actually give rise to feelings that persist eternally, through aging and even through death. The poem seems to argue that beauty and youth are so powerful that they can inspire feelings that last long after these qualities themselves are gone.

The speaker begins with an image of the beloved that emphasizes her youth and beauty, suggesting a love that is enthusiastic but likely to fade with time. The speaker tells the reader that this love “like a red, red rose.” Roses are most beautiful when “newly sprung”—but this is a beauty that, by definition, cannot last. Newness ends quickly, and all flowers eventually fade—they cannot be “red, red” forever. If “my Luve” refers to the beloved, then comparing her to a rose acknowledges that she is beautiful now but that her beauty will fade over time. Or, if “my Luve” refers to the speaker’s feelings for her, then it seems that the speaker’s feelings may also fade over time.

As the poem continues, however, the speaker suggests that the impermanent qualities of youth and beauty give rise to a love that is permanent. The speaker’s love will remain constant even through aging, decay, and death. In the second stanza, the speaker affirms the beloved’s beauty—“So fair art thou”—and the speaker’s strong love for her—“So deep in luve am I.” The parallel phrases starting with "So" suggest a causal connection between the two ideas. It is because she is so beautiful, as beautiful as a rose, that the speaker’s feelings for her are so strong. They are so strong, in fact, which they will last longer than any rose. Somewhat counter intuitively, the poem claims that the speaker’s love will actually outlast the rose-like beauty that initially inspired it.

To indicate how long he or she will love the beloved, the speaker uses three images: the sea going dry, the rocks melting with the sun, and the sands of life running out. These images represent great lengths of time (it would take an eternity for these events to happen) and, crucially, also describe processes of decay. They show the natural world losing its vitality and form, in much the same way as an individual flower would. Through these images, the speaker is indirectly confronting the reality of aging and death—not just in the natural world, but also in the lives of this couple. The speaker implies that he or she will continue to love the beloved even as she ages and her beauty decays. That is, her beautiful appearance may have first inspired their love, but their love will endure even when her beauty is gone. It will last, in fact, until the sands of their lives have run out and they draw close to death.

When the speaker promises to return after a long journey, knowing the beloved will have aged in that time, the speaker reaffirms that his or her feelings will remain the same even though the beloved may grow less beautiful. The speaker concludes by bidding farewell to the beloved and promising to return to her, even if the journey is “ten thousand mile[s]” long. The beloved will likely be older, less youthful, and perhaps less beautiful by the time the speaker returns. Nevertheless, the speaker does promise to return, indicating that although the beloved may change, the speaker’s feelings will remain constant. Through the final promise, the poem indicates again that the love youthful beauty inspires need not end when youth itself ends.