A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns
Setting
Bonnie lass and gang dry suggest that the speaker is from Scotland.
Themes
Love and Change, Beauty, Youth, and Aging.
Literary Context
Burns' fame and popularity stem from his unique blending of formal
English and Scottish dialect, as seen in the poem with Scottish dialect.
Burns first heard these dialects while listening to a rural girl sing
them, and they moved him so much that he recorded them. The first three
stanzas of the poem were reprinted in Johnson's Museum in 1797.
Historical Context
Burns lived during the Scottish Enlightenment, a time of outstanding
philosophical and scientific achievement in Scotland in the late 18th and
early 19th centuries. the third stanza Of the poem begins, Until the seas
gang dry, my dear, and the rocks melt with the sun,
includes multiple images
that signify the passing of time. The poem is written in the ballad style,
which has been popular in English poetry for decades and was first
employed as an oral tradition with music. The poem has a rhyme scheme
associated with the ballad form of ABCB.
Figurative Language
Literary devices are tools that authors use to convey their thoughts,
sentiments, and emotions as well as to aid readers in comprehending those
deeper meanings. To convey the beauty of the beloved and the depth of his
love, Robert Burns also used various literary devices in this poem.
Simile:
My love is like a red, red rose
Symbol:
Rose as a Symbol of Love.
Alliteration: the repetition of consonant sounds /l/ and /r/ in “O my Love is
like a red, red rose.
Assonance:
the repetition of vowel
sounds like /i/ in “I will love thee still, my dear”
Imagery: Visual Imagery like “O my Love is like a red, red rose”,” And the
rocks melt with the sun” and “While the sands of life shall run”.
Hyperbole:
Till the seas gang dry, and
the rocks melt with the sun.
Summing Up
The speaker compares his love to a newly bloomed rose that refers to the
beginning of their romantic relationship. He'll be in love with her until
the sun melts the rock and the seas dry up. His feelings for her are as
lovely, bright, and new as a newly blooming flower. This love is as tender
as a beautiful song performed by an accomplished musician. Because the
beloved is so lovely, the speaker has an intense love for her that will
last until the oceans dry up. Even if the earth degrades and the seas
evaporate, the speaker will remain in love with the beloved.
This love will survive until the end of life, and even until the end of
all human life, the speaker concludes by saying goodbye to the beloved,
who is the only person the speaker loves and who wishes her well during
their temporary separation. The speaker reaffirms his or her faithful love
by promising to return even if the journey is extremely long and
time-consuming.