A Red, Red Rose Is a Poem Written by Robert Burns, During 1796, the Year of His Death

A Red, Red Rose is a poem written by Robert Burns, during 1796, the year of his death.

The poem consists of four stanzas; each one four lines long.

The first stanza has an exact rhyme at the end of the second and fourth lines -- June and tune. The repetition of "O, my luve" in the first stanza conjures up the idea that his love is different from other men. His woman is so special to him that she reminds him of a red, red rose, not just a "plain" red rose. He uses two different similes for his love -- the rose and the melody, and "that's newly" and "that's sweetly" describing those similes. She is so young and fair that he compares her to the first rose of the season in its' purity and youth. His love is so sweet that she reminds him of a soothing melody played in tune. I immediately feel that he has known no other love like this.

O, my luve is like a red, red rose,

That's newly sprung in June.

That's sweetly played in tune.

The second stanza has a perfect rhyme at the end of the second and fourth lines -- "I" and "dry." In this stanza, the narrator reminds her and us that his love is undying no matter what happens around him. His reference to bonnie and seas makes me think of a childhood song's lyrics, "…my bonnie lies over the ocean, my bonnie lies over the sea…"

As fair art thou, my bonnie lass,

And I will luve thee still, my dear,

The third stanza has an exact rhyme at the end of the second and fourth lines -- "sun" and "run." He repeats the endearment "my dear" at the end of the first and third lines to emphasize his affection for her. He also rhymes within the stanza using till, will, and still, creating a pleasant sounding stanza. Included with these words is "shall" which doesn't rhyme but whose appearance is similar with the double consonant "L." He clearly states that he will be in love with her until certain occurrences happen in nature -- "seas go dry" and "rocks melt with the sun" which feasibly can never happen. In other words, his love for her will last forever. Even though time goes by like the sand in an hourglass, age will not hinder his undying love for her.

Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,

And the rocks