A RED RED ROSE
A RED RED ROSE ROBERT BURNS
A Red Red Rose
is a poem composed by Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns. It was first
published in 1794 in a collection of traditional Scottish songs set to music.
This poem was inspired both by a simple
Scots song he had heard in the country and by published ballads from the
period. The poem has the form of a ballad and is meant to be sung aloud. It
describes the speaker’s deep love for his or her beloved and promises that this
love will last longer than human life and even the planet itself, remaining
fresh and constant forever.
“A Red Red
Rose” Summary
The speaker
describes his 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.
ANNOTATIONS
About the Poet
A Red Red Rose” is a poem composed by Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns (1759-1796). He is regarded as
the ploughman poet and one of the leading voices of Scotland in English literature. He is the pioneer of the Romantic Movement for his lyrical poetry and rewriting of Scottish folk songs.
About the Poem
Robert Burns composed
the poem ‘A Red Red Rose’ one of his best lyrics. It describes the speaker’s deep love for his
beloved and promises that this love will last longer than human life and even
the planet itself, remaining fresh and constant forever. It blends the eternity
of love with the mortality of life.
a).
O my Luve is like a red, red rose
That’s
newly sprung in June;
Reference: This
couplet is taken from the poem, ‘A Red Red Rose’ written by Robert Burns. It is
one of the best lyrics in English poetry. It blends the eternity of love with the
mortality of life.
Context:
This
poem describes the speaker’s deep love for his beloved and promises that this
love will last longer than human life and even the planet itself, remaining
fresh and constant forever.
Explanation: It
is an address to the speaker’s lover to whom he swears eternal love and
loyalty. The speaker begins with an image of the beloved that emphasizes her
youth and beauty. In the first lines, he compares his love to “a red, red rose.”
Saying the beloved is like a rose “newly sprung in June” and he 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.
Comment:
In the first stanza, the speaker, comparing the beloved to a rose emphasizes
her youth and beauty, while comparing the speaker's emotions to a rose
emphasizes how intense, exciting, and new those feelings are.
b).
O my Luve is like the melody
That’s
sweetly play’d in tune;
Reference: This
couplet is taken from the poem, ‘A Red Red Rose’ written by Robert Burns. It is
one of the best lyrics in English poetry. It blends the eternity of love with
the mortality of life.
Context: This
poem describes the speaker’s deep love for his beloved and promises that this
love will last longer than human life and even the planet itself, remaining
fresh and constant forever.
Explanation:
After comparing his love to a rose, the speaker says this love is like “a
melody / That’s sweetly played in tune.” His love is like a melody that
attracts the attention of music lovers. His love endures like ever-lasting
music. 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. This love is as sweet as a beautiful song played by a skilled
musician.
Comment:
The images used in the similes—a red rose, and a sweet song—are universally
associated with love. By using these common images, the speaker suggests that
his or her love, while sincere and intense, is not wholly unusual. It is has
something in common with all human experiences of love.
c).
And I will Luve thee still, my dear,
Till
a’ the seas gang dry.
Reference: This
couplet is taken from the poem, ‘A Red Red Rose’ written by Robert Burns. It is
one of the best lyrics in English poetry. It blends the eternity of love with
the mortality of life.
Context:
This
poem describes the speaker’s deep love for his beloved and promises that this
love will last longer than human life and even the planet itself, remaining
fresh and constant forever.
Explanation:
In the second stanza the speaker affirms that his beloved is so beautiful. He
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. 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.
Comment:
This love will endure until their own lives have ended and even until all human
life has ended. Through these images, the poet wants to convey the idea of the
speaker’s love emerging as permanent and stable. His is intense and passionate
love.
d).
And fare thee weel, my only
Luve
and fare thee weel, a while!
Reference: This
couplet is taken from the poem, ‘A Red Red Rose’ written by Robert Burns. It is
one of the best lyrics in English poetry. It blends the eternity of love with
the mortality of life.
Context:
This
poem describes the speaker’s deep love for his beloved and promises that this
love will last longer than human life and even the planet itself, remaining
fresh and constant forever.
Explanation:
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. 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.
Comment: The
speaker reaffirms his faithful love by promising to return even if the journey
covers a very long distance and takes a very long time.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
A). How is the feeling
of love expressed in ‘A Red Red Rose’?
Answer: A Red Red
Rose is a poem composed by Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns. It
describes the speaker’s deep love for his beloved and promises that this love
will last longer than human life and even the planet itself, remaining fresh
and constant forever.
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.
B). Why is love
compared to a red red rose?
Answer: A Red Red
Rose is a poem composed by Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns. It
describes the speaker’s deep love for his beloved and promises that this love
will last longer than human life and even the planet itself, remaining fresh
and constant forever.
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.”
“Love” 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.
The rose is a
traditional symbol of romantic love, especially when its colour is red. Here,
the rose symbolizes the love between the speaker and the beloved. Comparing the
beloved to a rose the speaker emphasizes her youth and beauty while comparing
the speaker's emotions to a rose emphasizes how intense, exciting, and new
those feelings are.
C). What does the
speaker promise in A Red Red Rose?
Answer: A Red Red
Rose is a poem composed by Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns. It
describes the speaker’s deep love for his beloved and promises that this love
will last longer than human life and even the planet itself, remaining fresh
and constant forever.
The speaker affirms
that his beloved is so beautiful. He 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. The speaker reiterates that even after the seas have
evaporated and the earth has decayed, he will still love the beloved. This love
will endure until their own lives have ended and even until all human life has
ended. Through these images, the poet wants to convey the idea of the speaker’s
love emerging as permanent and stable.
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 faithful love by promising to return even
if the journey covers a very long distance and takes a very long time.
D). Describe the
speaker’s devotion to his beloved as expressed in the last two lines of A Red
Red Rose.
Answer: A Red Red
Rose is a poem composed by Scotland's national poet, Robert Burns. It
describes the speaker’s deep love for his beloved and promises that this love
will last longer than human life and even the planet itself, remaining fresh
and constant forever.
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.
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