About the Poet

Robert Burns (1759-1796) was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is considered the national poet of Scotland and a central figure in Scottish literature. His father was a tenant farmer, and Burns worked as a ploughboy. He grew up poor but well-read and began writing poetry in Scottish dialect. As an adult, he was as unsuccessful as his father in making a living at farming. In 1791, however, he quit farming for good and moved his family to the nearby town of Dumfries. Never in good health, on the morning of July 21, 1796, he died in Dumfries at the age of 37. He is best known as a pioneer of the Romantic Movement for his lyrical poetry.

The poem 'A Red, Red Rose' is a lyrical ballad that describes the speaker’s deep love for his beloved and promises that this love will last longer than human life. The beloved of the speaker is as beautiful as the red rose and as sweet as the music. With the help of literary devices, the poet has sketched a very vivid and realistic picture of his profound love.

Summary

The poem ‘A Red, Red Rose’ has been composed by a Scottish poet Robert Burns. It is a lyrical ballad that describes the speaker’s deep love for his beloved. With the help of literary devices, the poet has sketched a very clear and realistic picture of his beloved. It has four stanzas in which he poured his deep feeling of love.

In the first stanza, we find the speaker comparing his beloved with a red rose which blooms in June. Similarly, he compares her to a melody that is played with the tune. The speaker thinks of his beloved as an attractive, fresh and delicate red rose of June. He thinks of her as the most beautiful woman of the world who is as sweet as melody and as beautiful as a red rose.

In the second and third stanzas, the speaker praises her beauty. He is fully influenced by her therefore he is in very deep love with her. He doesn’t want to stay away from her. He wants to be in the connection of deep love for a very long period of time. He loves her until the seas of earth go dry and the rocks melt with the sun. He loves her until he has blood in his body.

In the last stanza, the speaker talks about temporary separation but he is not so pessimistic about that. He is so hopeful to meet her and wishes a good life and bright future to his beloved. He farewells her at the time of temporary separation but he promises to meet very soon though the journey is ten thousand miles. He vows to be with her by defeating the challenges which are very tough. We find a very deep love of the speaker to his beloved in this poem. It is a poem of comparing, admiring, hoping and promising.