Ae Fond Kiss Flashcards
Form
Lyric poem- a private expression of emotion by an individual speaker
Burns context
Used his experience of the land and nature in his poetry
A firm believer in egalitarianism- support for the French Revolution
Had many love affairs throughout his life
Had a relationship with Mrs Agnes Maclehose (Nancy) through love letters but was always platonically
Sent her the poem just before she travelled to Jamaica to join her husband for an attempt at reconciliation
Interpretations of the poem
However, painful, it is better to love than not- language the poem uses
The speaker confronts the pain of losing a lover- a statement for the poem
Purser critical view
“Standard guff of cheap valentine”(does not think it is genuine/real love)
Methods
Anaphora
A semantic field of pain
Night imagery
Repetition
Cyclical structure
Rhyming couplets
Themes
Unattainable love/ barriers to love
Destructive/painful love
