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A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns
Table of Contents
GLOSSARY
A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns
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’
ABOUT THE POET
ABOUT THE POEM
This poem, "A Red, Red Rose," is one of the finest creations that has been composed by the Scottish poet Robert Burns.
This poem was initially published in the year 1794. There are altogether four different stanzas here in this poem. The poem has 16 lines (four quatrains) and has the form of a ballad.
This poem presents an unnamed speaker and his deep love feelings for his unnamed beloved. The speaker here in this poem has made promises to his beloved that his love for him will last longer than human life and even the planet, remaining fresh and constant forever.
MAIN THEME
A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns
The main theme of this poem is the immortality of love relationships and their feelings.
This poem has shown the concept that a love relationship never dies. It keeps on moving forever.
MAIN SUMMARY
In the very first stanza, we find the speaker comparing his beloved with lovable things. Here, the speaker's love feelings for his beloved are so deep.
The speaker compares his beloved with the beautiful, fresh, and delicate red rose of June. Next, the speaker compares his beloved with a sweet melody that is sweetly played in tune.
In the second stanza, the speaker praises her beauty and even makes very lovable promises related to his love for her. According to the speaker, he is in deep love with her because she is quite beautiful. He adds that he will love her until the entire seas on this planet have become dry.
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The promises of the speaker keep on moving, even in the third stanza. He promises his beloved to love her till the rocks on this planet have melted with the heat of the sun. He will love her until the end of human life.
In the fourth stanza, the speaker wishes for his beloved to have a good life and a bright future during their temporary separation. He lets her say farewell. In the final two lines, we find the speaker promising his love to return, though the journey is so long (ten thousand miles) and takes a very long time.
SHORT SUMMARY
The poem "A Red, Red Rose" is about the lovable feelings of the speaker towards his beautiful beloved. The speaker's love for his beloved is so deep. He compares his beloved with the new red rose of June and the sweet melody of a tune. His beloved is so beautiful, like a red rose, and the sweet melody of the tune He wants to love his beloved forever; that's why he is making various promises. He wants to be with her and love her until earthly seas go dry, rocks melt, and human life ends. He wants to be with her after a short separation, no matter if the journey is ten thousand miles long or takes a long time. The speaker dedicates his life to his beloved, who is quite beautiful.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
BEFORE READING
a. How do people express love?
Answer:
People often express love in a very secret way. They express love through different means, such as openly proposing, sending gifts, chatting in-network, sending letters, sending a friend as a messenger, etc.
b. What is the symbolic meaning of ‘rose’?
Answer:
The flower rose has different symbols according to its colour. Different colours symbolise different lovable meanings. A red rose often symbolises love and beauty; therefore, it also represents a lady. The red rose symbolises love, beauty, and romance in this poem. The red roses are specially used by lovers as Valentine's roses on Valentine's Day.
c. What images in nature would you use to express love?
Answer:
There are various images in nature that express love. Among these images, I would use two images to express love.
1. Rain:
Rain always reminds me of my first meeting with my beloved.
2. Red rose:
This particular flower reminds me of my beloved's smile.
UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT
Answer the following questions:
a. To which two things does the speaker compare his love in the first stanza?
Answer:
There are altogether four different stanzas here in this poem where we find the speaker comparing, admiring, wishing, and promising. In the very first stanza, the speaker compares his beloved with the fresh, delicate, and beautiful red rose of July. Next, he compares her with a sweet melody that is sweetly played in a fine tune. Here, these comparisons have shown the beauty of the speaker's beloved.
b. What does the speaker promise in the second and third stanza?
Answer:
The speaker promises various things to his beloved in the second and third stanzas. He promises to love his beloved until the earthly seas have become dry, rocks have melted by the heat of the sun, and human life has ended.
c. What imagery does he use in his promise, and why do you think he uses such language?
Answer:
He uses the imagery of dry seas, melted rocks, and ending human life in the second and third stanzas. He uses the image of a long journey in the fourth stanza. I think he uses such language because his love is so deep and true for his beloved.
d. In the last stanza, what event is about to happen by mentioning the number of miles?
Answer:
Here, by mentioning the number of miles, the event of reconciliation is about to happen. After a short temporary separation with his beloved or giving wishes and farewell, the speaker promises to return to her life, though the journey is so long and takes a long time.
e. Which image in the poem do you find the most memorable or surprising and why?
Answer:
Here in this poem, I find the image of dry seas on the entire earth the most surprising because this promise of the speaker is managed in a very interesting fashion. After reading his lovable promises, I keep on pondering the state of the earth without water.
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!
Answer:
This beautiful, promising line has been taken from Robert Burns love poem'A Red, Red Rose. We find this line at the end of the fourth stanza. Here, the speaker is in deep love with his beloved. He is making a promise to his beloved to return to her life after their temporary separation. He promises to be with her, no matter how long the journey is.
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b. What is the theme of the poem?
Answer:
The main theme of this poem is the immortality of a love relationship and its feelings.
This poem has shown the concept that a love relationship never dies. It keeps on moving forever.
c. Paraphrase the whole poem into simple prose form.
Answer:
A speaker is in deep love with his beloved. His feelings for his beloved are so deep and pure.
His beloved isn't present right now with him. He keeps on remembering his beloved through comparisons, promises, wishes, etc. He compares his beautiful beloved with a beautiful new delicate rose of June and a sweet melody. He promises to love her forever. He promises to love and live with her until the seas have become dry, rocks have melted, and human life has ended. He provides her with a fine farewell for a short time and wishes her a bright future. He again promises to come back into her life, though the journey is quite long.
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 literary devices such as simile, symbolism, imagery, alliteration, and assonance.
Answer:
We find various uses of literary devices here in this poem. A simile is a literary device that is used to make comparisons using like or as. Here, the speaker has used simile in the very first stanza, where he has compared his beloved with the beautiful fresh red rose of July and sweet melody using like.
Next, symbolism is a literary device that uses symbols, be they words, people, marks, locations, or abstract ideas, to represent something beyond the literal meaning. Here, the red rose and sweet melody are symbolically presented for the speaker's love. The love here in this poem symbolises an immortal relationship.
Next, imagery is a literary device to represent concepts through the use of images. The speaker has used various images for his beloved and his promises. Here, we find images such as a red rose, dry seas, melted rocks, the end of human life, farewell, a long journey, etc.
Next, alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of two or more words at short intervals. Here in this poem, we can find alliteration in the very first line: My love is like a red, red rose. (L&R). Again in the fourteenth line, we find alliteration: Well, a while! (W).
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Next, assonance is the repetition of similar or identical vowel sounds, usually in literature or poetry. These vowel sounds are in closer words in a line and within consonant words too. We find assonance in the poem, from the first to the last line:
Example:
e. What is hyperbole? Explain its purpose citing examples of hyperbole used in the poem.
Answer:
Hyperbole is a literary device that is used to exaggerate a statement for the sake of emphasis. To present the speaker's depth of love, the poet has used this literary device. We find the use of hyperbole in the second and third stanzas, where the speaker has claimed, "And I will love you still, my dear, till a' the seas gang dry," "And the rocks melt with' the sun!" and "While the sands of' life shall run." Here, in these lines, the speaker seems to exaggerate his feelings to show his determination to love her forever. The last two lines are, "And I will come again, my love, Tho' it were ten thousand miles!" The speaker exaggerates the distance to show his firm feelings of love.
f. What is refrain? Why is it used in the poem? Explain citing an example from the poem.
Answer:
Refrain is a poetic device that focuses only on repeated lines at some distance in the poems. It is used to emphasise something and also create rhythm in the poem. It is used to make breaks between stanzas. Here in this poem, we find refrains in the second, third, and fourth stanzas.
The refrains in the poem are as follows:
1. And I will love you still, my dear.
2. Till a' the seas gang dry.
3. And fare thee well.
REFERENCE BEYOND THE TEXT
a. What kind of love is expressed in "A Red, Red Rose"?
Answer:
In this poem, A Red, Red Rose, the poet has expressed his romantic love for his beloved, whose feelings are so deep. He has compared his beloved with a new and beautiful rose of July and also with a sweet melody. He has even made many promises to love his beloved forever.
b. Do you think that love has power? Why do the poets compose poems addressing their beloved?
Answer:
Yes, I think love has power. Love can sometimes lead people towards perfection, but it may also have destructive results. I think poets are so passionate about their creations. Most of the poets in the world prefer writing about love relationships. We find most of the poets composing their poems addressing their beloveds because they want to write about their own experiences of love and share them with others. Their own experience of love supports them in creating the best they can.
C. Poetry is the expression of feelings and emotions. Explain.
Answer:
Poetry is the expression of feelings and emotions, which allows people to express themselves through written means. Poetry is a great way to release emotions, exercise creativity, and share thoughts and ideas with other people. Writing poetry is an art, a way of expressing and finding meaning in a few words. A melody of passion flows out onto the pages, words that flow into each other and yet express the innermost emotions and feelings of those who read the words. The poets can easily express their inner feelings and emotions through a few lines of poetry. The creations of the poets have a deep meaning related to human feelings and emotions. The poetic lines create amazing meanings for humans' feelings and emotions.
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