Analysis of Highland Mary
Robert Burns 1759 (Alloway) – 1796 (Dumfries)
Ye banks, and braes, and streams around
The castle o' Montgomery,
Green be your woods, and fair your flowers,
Your waters never drumlie!
There Simmer first unfald her robes,
And there the langest tarry:
For there I took the last Fareweel
O' my sweet Highland Mary.
How sweetly bloom'd the gay, green birk,
How rich the hawthorn's blossom;
As underneath their fragrant shade,
I clasp'd her to my bosom!
The golden Hours, on angel wings,
Flew o'er me and my Dearie;
For dear to me as light and life
Was my sweet Highland Mary.
Wi' mony a vow, and lock'd embrace,
Our parting was fu' tender;
And pledging aft to meet again,
We tore oursels asunder:
But Oh, fell Death's untimely frost,
That nipt my Flower sae early!
Now green's the sod, and cauld's the clay,
That wraps my Highland Mary!
O pale, pale now, those rosy lips
I aft hae kiss'd sae fondly!
And clos'd for ay, the sparkling glance,
That dwalt on me sae kindly!
And mouldering now in silent dust,
That heart that lo'ed me dearly!
But still within my bosom's core
Shall live my Highland Mary.
Scheme | XAXBXABA XCXCXAXA XDXDXABA XAXAXAXA |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 11010101 0101010 111101110 110101 1101101 010110 1111011 1111010 11010111 110110 1011101 1101110 010101101 1101011 11111101 1111010 110010101 10101110 01011101 111010 11110101 11110110 11010101 1111010 11111101 1111110 01110101 1111110 0110101 11111110 1101111 1111010 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,105 |
Words | 192 |
Sentences | 11 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 25 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 201 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 48 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 21, 2023
- 1:01 min read
- 233 Views
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"Highland Mary" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/30505/highland-mary>.
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