NEB Grade :11 (English) 2.2 Oh, My Love is like a red red love - by Robert Burns (Poems) Part- 2
Before Reading
Answer these questions.
a.
How do people express love?
• People
express their love through gifts, acts, time, touch and words.
b.
What is the symbolic meaning of ‘rose’?
• The symbolic
meaning of ‘rose’ is love and romance. It also indicates purity and clarity as
well.
c.
What images in nature would you use to express love?
• Heart,
rose, moon, birds, sunshine etc.
Oh, My Love is like a red
red love (Summary): Robert Burns
• The
"A Red, Red Rose" poem is about the speaker's lovable feelings for
his beautiful beloved. So strong is the speaker's passion for his beloved. He
compares his beloved to June's fresh red rose and the sweet melody of a tune.
His beloved is as exquisite as the red rose and the soft tuned melody. He wants
to love his beloved forever, which is why he makes different promises. He
wants to be and love her with her until the gang of earthly seas go dry, rocks
melt, and human life ends. After a short break, he wants to be with her
regardless of whether the ride is ten thousand miles long or long. The speaker
devotes his life to his loved one, who is pretty stunning.
• We
find the speaker in the very first stanza comparing his beloved with lovable
things. Here, the love feelings of the speaker for his beloved are so strong.
• The
speaker compares the stunning, fresh and delicate red rose of June to his
beloved one. Next, the speaker contrasts his beloved with a sweet melody that
is played in tune with sweetness.
• The
speaker praises her beauty in the second stanza and also makes very lovable
pledges linked to his love for her. He is in deep love with her, according to
the speaker, because she is very beautiful. He adds that he's going to love her
until the entire sea on this planet dry.
• Even
in the third stanza, the speaker's vow keeps going. He vows to love his beloved
until the rocks of this world are melted by the rays of the sun. Until the end
of human life, he would love her.
• In the
fourth stanza, during their temporary separation, the speaker wants his beloved
to have a decent life and a promising future. He makes her say goodbye. We find
the speaker promising his love to return in the final two lines, even though
the journey is too long (ten thousand miles) and takes a very long time.
• Understanding the text…
Answer the following questions.
a. To which two things does
the speaker compare his love in the first stanza?
The speaker compares his
beloved to the young, delicate and lovely red rose of July then after again he
compares her with sweet melody in the very first stanza.
b. What does the speaker promise in the second and third stanzas?
The speaker promises
different things to his beloved. He vows to love his beloved until the earthly
seas have dried up, the fire of the sun has melted the ice, and human life is
over in the second and third stanzas.
c. What imagery does he use in his promise, and why do you think he
uses such language?
• He uses
the imagery of ‘the dry seas’, ‘melted rocks’ in the second and third stanza,
and ‘the end of human life’. In the fourth stanza, he uses an illustration of a
long journey.
• I
think he uses such words because his love for his beloved is so profound and
genuine.
d. In the last stanza, what event is about to happen by mentioning
the number of miles?
• In
the last stanza, the event of
reconciliation is about to happen by mentioning the number of miles. The speaker
promises to return to her life after a brief temporary separation with his
beloved, 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?
• Here
I find the image of dry sea in the earth the most surprising. Because it is a
very interesting way of promise . It
is surprising because it
is impossible that
anybody can make a boundary to stop us for loving each other . I keep on
pondering the state of the earth without water after reading his lovable
promises.
• 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!
• This
beautiful and promising line is taken
out from Robert Burns' love poem 'A Red, Red Rose’. At the end of the
fourth stanza, we find this line. This is where the speaker is in deep love
with his beloved. He makes a promise with his beloved that he will return to
her life after their temporary separation. He promises to be with her, no
matter how long the journey takes.
b. What is the theme of the poem?
• The
immortality of the bond of love and its feelings is the primary theme of this
poem.
• This
poem demonstrated the idea that the relationship of love never dies. It
continues to travel indefinitely.
c. Paraphrase the whole poem into simple prose form.
• The speaker
is intensely in love with his beloved. His feelings are so deep and genuine for
his beloved.
• Right
now, his beloved is not there with him. By making comparisons, promises,
wishes, etc., he keeps recalling his beloved. He compares his lovely beloved to
a lovely fresh, delicate June rose and a sweet melody. He promises that he
will forever love her. He vows to love and live with her until the oceans have
dried up, the rocks have melted, and human life is over. For a brief moment, he
gives her a fine farewell and wishes for her bright future. He promises to be
back in her life again, although the journey is very 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 the literary devices such
as simile, symbolism, imagery, alliteration, and assonance.
·
Here in this poem, we find different uses of
literary devices.
• Simile is a literary technique used to create
comparisons using like or as. Here, in the very first stanza, the speaker used
a simile where he contrasted his beloved with July's beautiful fresh red rose
and sweet melody using like.
• Next,
Symbolism is a literary device that
uses symbols, whether words, people, marks, places, or abstract ideas to
represent something beyond the literal meaning. For the love of the speaker,
the red rose and sweet melody are symbolically portrayed here. Love here
symbolizes the immortal relationship in this poem.
• Imagery is a literary device used to represent
concepts through the use of images. The speaker used a number of images for his
beloved and his promises. Here we find images of red roses, dry seas, melted
rocks, the end of human life, farewell, long journeys, etc.
• Alliteration is the repetition of
consonant sounds at short intervals at the start of two or more words. We can
find alliteration here in this poem in the very first line that my love is like
a red, red rose (L&R). We notice alliteration once again in the fourteenth
line: well, a while! (W).
• Next,
assonance is typically the repetition
in literature or poetry of similar or identical vowel sounds. These vowel
sounds are in a line and even within consonant words in closer words. From the
first to the last line, we find assonance in the poem.
• Where
Assonance appears in the poem:
Line 1: "O," "e,"
"e," "o“ Line
2: "ew," "y," "u“
Line 3: "O," "o,"
"y” Line 4: "ee,"
"y," "u“
e. What is hyperbole? Explain its purpose citing
examples of hyperbole used in the poem.
· For the sake of emphasis, Hyperbole is a
literary technique which is used to exaggerate a sentence. The poet used this
literary device to present the intensity of the speaker's affection. In the
second and third stanza we find the use of hyperbole where the speaker claimed,
" And I will love thee still my dear, Till a' the seas gang dry"
" And the rocks melt wi' the sun!", "While the sands o' life
shall run." Here, the speaker seems to be exaggerating his emotions
in these lines to illustrate his desire to love her forever. The last two
lines, " And I will come again, my love, Tho' it were ten thousand
mile!" The speaker exaggerates the distance to demonstrate his firm love
feelings.
f. What is refrain? Why is it used in the poem?
Explain citing an example from the poem.
·
Refrain is a poetic device in poetry that
focuses only on repeated lines at a certain distance. It is used to emphasize
something and to produce rhythm in the poem as well. It is used to break up
stanzas. We find a refrain here in this poem in the second, third, and fourth
stanzas.
• The
refrain in the poem are as follows:
• And
I will love thee still, my dear,
• Till
a' the seas gang dry.
• And
fare thee weel
• Reference beyond the text
a. What kind of love is expressed in "A Red,
Red Rose"?
• Burns
is expressing romantic love in "A Red, Red Rose." As the
poem's title indicates, he is at the height of being head-over-heels in love. The
red, red rose is a metaphor for his feeling of his love being
in the fullest possible bloom. It is at its peak, just as a rose is in the
month of June.
• Burns
captures how love feels when one is most intensely and passionately in love.
Not only is it like the most beautiful red rose, it is like a sweet melody.
Further, when one is deeply in love, one feels as the speaker does, that the
love will last even to point that the seas go dry or the rocks melt in the sun.
It seems incomprehensible that such a powerful emotion could ever fade.
• While
the lover is saying a temporary farewell to the beloved, he looks forward to
seeing her again. He is convinced he will do so, for he would travel 10,000
miles to find her.
The poet shares his romantic
love for his beloved in this poem, A Red, Red Rose, where his feelings are so
profound by comparing his beloved with a fresh and beautiful July rose and a
sweet melody as well
b. Do you think that love has power? Why do the poets compose poems
addressing their beloved?
·
Yeah, I agree that love has authority. Love
may also lead people to perfection, where harmful consequences can also be
achieved. Poets are so enthusiastic about their creations, I think. Most poets
in the world tend to write about the bond of love. Many poets write their
poems addressing their loved ones because they want to write their own love
experiences and share them with others. Their own love experience gives them
support to build the best they can.
C. Poetry is the expression of feeling and emotions. Explain
• Poetry
is the representation of thoughts and feelings that enables people to express
themselves in writing. Poetry is a perfect way to relieve emotions, practice
imagination, and exchange ideas and thoughts with others. Writing poetry in
just a few words is an art, a way of communicating and seeking meaning. A
melody of passion that flows through the pages, words that flow into each other
and still convey the innermost feelings and emotions of those who read the
words. Via a few lines of verse, poets can readily express their inner thoughts
and emotions. The poets' works have a profound sense of human thoughts and
emotions. The poetic lines create incredible definitions of the feeling of man.
• A
symbol is any object, character or action that stands for both itself, its
literal meaning, and also for a larger concept that reaches beyond it. If we
look at this very famous poem and profession of love, we can see that it
contains a number of different symbols. However, perhaps most clearly we can
see that the third stanza contains a symbol of the permanence of the speaker's
love for his beloved:
and the rocks melt wi' the sun!
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
while the sands of life shall run.
• There
are a number of examples of this constancy, as the speaker uses the symbol of
the seas going dry, the rocks melting in the heat of the sun and the sands of
life running. Each of these three actions function as a symbol that stand for
both themselves literally but also show the immutability of the speaker's
affections for his beloved.
• "A
Red, Red Rose" is about the power of love over the inevitable passage
of time. The speaker stresses his adoration for the object of his desire as he
takes leave of her (the reader is never told why he must go). He compares his
love to a newly bloomed rose in the summertime and a beautiful melody,
suggesting a youthful passion motivated by the speaker's beauty and charm. He
claims he will love her as long as there is life and until the seas go dry and
the rocks melt in the sun.
• It
has been suggested that the speaker's overzealous protestations of love hide an
insincere motive, that perhaps the speaker has seduced the beloved and is
leaving her with no intention of returning. The choice of imagery to
stress that this point validates this idea: after all, roses fade and even the
most beautiful music eventually ends. Even the beloved's fairness so praised by
the speaker is doomed to end once she begins to age.
(All Images Credit: Google Images)
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