Analysis of John Anderson, My Jo

Robert Burns 1759 (Alloway) – 1796 (Dumfries)



John Anderson, my jo John,
When we were first acquent
Your locks were like the raven,
Your bonnie brow was brent;
But now your brow is bald, John,
Your locks are like the snow;
But blessings on your frosty pow,
John Anderson my jo!

John Anderson, my jo John,
We clamb the hill thegither,
And mony a canty day, John,
We've had wi' ane anither:
Now we maun totter down, John,
But hand in hand we'll go,
And sleep thegither at the foot,
John Anderson my jo.


Scheme AbxbacxC AdadacbC
Poetic Form
Metre 1100111 11011 1101010 110111 1111111 111101 11011101 110011 1100111 11011 01001011 11111 1111011 110111 011101 110011
Closest metre Iambic trimeter
Characters 447
Words 89
Sentences 3
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 8
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 22
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 173
Words per stanza (avg) 44
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

27 sec read
427

Robert Burns

Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and lyricist. more…

All Robert Burns poems | Robert Burns Books

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