Literary Technique: Simile
Poem Example:
A Red, Red Rose
By Robert Burns
O my Luve is like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve is like the melody
That’s sweetly played in tune.
So fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry.
Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;
I will love thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.
And fare thee weel, my only luve!
And fare thee weel awhile!
And I will come again, my luve,
Though it were ten thousand mile.
Biographical Information: Born on 25 January 1759 in Alloway, Scotland, to William and Agnes Brown Burnes, Robert Burns followed his father's example by becoming a tenant farmer. Unlike William Burnes, however, Burns was able to escape the vicissitudes and vagaries of the soil in two ways: toward the end of his life he became an excise collector in Dumfries, where he died in 1796; and throughout his life he was a practicing poet. As a poet he recorded and celebrated aspects of farm life, regional experience, traditional culture, class culture and distinctions, and religious practice and belief in such a way as to transcend the particularities of his inspiration, becoming finally the national poet of Scotland. Although he did not set out to achieve that designation, he clearly and repeatedly expressed his wish to be called a Scots bard, to extol his native land in poetry and song, as he does in "The Answer":
Explanation of Technique: A simile is a comparison made with “as,” “like,” or “than.” The narrator of this poem uses simile by comparing his love to a red rose and a melody. The similes use 'like' to link two objects and compare them. The first stanza is a perfect example of the similes.
'O my Luve is like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve is like the melody
That’s sweetly played in tune.'
Interpretation of Poem: The narrator of the poem starts off by comparing his love to various things, such as a rose and a melody. He then describes the vastness and depth of his love for his bonnie-lass. It's implied that he is going to be going to a distant land, since he says farewell to his love, and assures her that he will return, even though he wil be going for ten thousand miles.
Visual Representation:
Explanation of Visual: I selected this image because it represents the first stanza of the poem very well. The narrator of the poem compares his love to a red rose and a sweet melody, the two items in the image. The poem is extremely endearing and mellifluous, just like an aromatic rose and a mellow tune.
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