Robert Burns - Song (Ae fond kiss) Flashcards
Which revolution was Burns influenced by?
The french revolution - the idea that the rich and poor should be equal.
Why is there a frequent use of monosyllabic words?
So lots of people can understand it (Burns favoured equality).
What does the word ‘fond’ suggest?
A sense of distance and detachment as fondness is different to love. If it was true love then stronger words would be used. Also reflective of the past.
What does the replacement of fullstops with exclamation marks in the last half of the poem suggest?
The speaker is reflecting upon, rather than presently feeling, those emotions.
What does the excited tone in the last half of the poem shift?
The conveyance from a sadness mixed in the immediacy of a loss to a joyful reflection of one’s youth, as if to say “ah, such is young love!”
What does the sad final couplet of the poem suggest?
He feels the pains from yesterday once more. This demonstrates that while the love was young, foolish, and fleeting, it left a deep and lasting impression on the singer.
Why is the line
“Had we never lov’d sae kindly/blindly…We had ne’er been broken-hearted” significant?
In this line, kindliness is contrasted with blindness, conveying a kind of innocent but also foolish adoration of the lover.
