Analysis of O were my Love yon Lilac fair

Robert Burns 1759 (Alloway) – 1796 (Dumfries)



O WERE my Love yon lilac fair,
   Wi' purple blossoms to the spring,
And I a bird to shelter there,
   When wearied on my little wing;
How I wad mourn when it was torn
   By autumn wild and winter rude!
But I wad sing on wanton wing
   When youthfu' May its bloom renew'd.

O gin my Love were yon red rose
   That grows upon the castle wa',
And I mysel a drap o' dew,
   Into her bonnie breast to fa';
O there, beyond expression blest,
   I'd feast on beauty a' the night;
Seal'd on her silk-saft faulds to rest,
   Till fley'd awa' by Phoebus' light.


Scheme ABABXCBC XXXXDEDE
Poetic Form
Metre 1011111 11010101 01011101 11011101 11111111 11010101 11111101 1111101 11110111 11010101 0110111 01010111 11010101 11110001 11011111 1111101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 558
Words 107
Sentences 4
Stanzas 2
Stanza Lengths 8, 8
Lines Amount 16
Letters per line (avg) 25
Words per line (avg) 7
Letters per stanza (avg) 198
Words per stanza (avg) 53
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 08, 2023

33 sec read
163

Robert Burns

Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and lyricist. more…

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