A Red Red Rose (Poem) Question/ Answer Grade 11

A Red, Red Rose 

UNDERSTANDING THE TEXT

Answer the following questions.

a. To which two things does the speaker compare his love in the first stanza?

→ These two things the speaker compares his love in the first stanza are red rose and melody. The speaker compares his beloved to the young, delicate, and lovely red rose of July in the very first stanza. In the same way, he compares his beloved to a sweet melody that is played sweetly with a fine tune.

b. What does the speaker promise in the second and third stanzas?

→ In the second and third stanzas, the speaker promises that he will love his beloved until the earthly seas go dry and the rocks melt by the heat of the sun.

c. What imagery does he use in his promise, and why do you think he uses such language?

→ He uses hyperbolic imagery in his promises like dry seas and melted rocks. I think he uses such language to express that his love for his beloved is so profound and genuine.

d. In the last stanza, what event is about to happen by mentioning the number of miles?

→ In the last stanza, temporary separation is about to happen by mentioning the number of miles. The speaker promises to return to her life after that short temporary separation though the journey is so long.

e. Which image in the poem do you find the most memorable or surprising and why?

→Here in this poem, I find the image of melted rocks the most memorable and surprising because this hyperbolic imagery makes us realise his devotion of love to her is so profound and genuine.

 

REFERENCE TO THE CONTEXT

a. What can you infer about the speaker's devotion to his beloved from the following lines?

And I will come again, my love,

Tho' it were ten thousand mile!

→ These lines are taken from the poem 'A Red, Red Rose'. This utterance is expressed when the speaker is in deep love with his beloved and promises several things to her. He makes a promise to his beloved that he will return to meet her after their temporary separation. He promises to come back to meet her though the is so long or more than ten thousand miles.

b. What is the theme of the poem?

→The immortal bond of love and passion as well as feeling to it is the primary theme of this poem. In this poem he praises the beauty of his beloved. This poem shows the idea that the relationship of love never dies.

c. Paraphrase the whole poem into simple prose form.

→ The poem is about the feeling of the speaker as well as description of his beloved. In the first stanza, the speaker compares his beloved with a red rose which blooms in June. Similarly, he compares her like a melody that is played with tune. He thinks her as the most beautiful woman in the world who is as sweet as melody and as beautiful as a red rose. In the second and third stanzas, the speaker praises her beauty. He doesn’t want to stay away from her. He wants to be in the connection of deep love for a very long period of time. He loves her until the seas of earth go dry and the rocks melt with the sun. He loves her until he has blood in his body. In the last stanza, the speaker talks about temporary separation but he is not so pessimistic about that. He is so hopeful to meet her though the journey is of ten thousand miles.

d. Analyse the poem in terms of the literary devices such as simile, symbolism, imagery, alliteration and assonance.

→ Literary devices are tools that enable the writers to present their ideas, emotions, and feelings in an attractive way. Those devices also help the readers to understand the inner meanings of the literary genre. In this poem, different literary devices are used. They are simile, symbolism, imagery, alliteration and assonance. Simile is a literary technique used to create comparisons using like, seem, as etc. The speaker has used simile by contrasting his beloved with a red rose and sweet melody using like. Symbolism is a literary device that uses symbols. In this poem, the rose is the symbol of love. By exaggeration of ideas in the poem, we find the image of his beloved. In the same way, we can find the repetition of vowels and consonants which are alliteration and assonance in literature. ‘O, my love is like a red red rose’ is an example of alliteration because of the repetition of ‘r’ and ‘And I will love thee still, my dear’, is an example of assonance because of the repetition of vowel ‘i’.

 

e. What is hyperbole? Explain its purpose citing examples of hyperbole used in the poem.

→ Hyperbole is a literary technique that is used to exaggerate the idea which is not possible in real life. In the second and third stanza we find the use of hyperbole where the speaker claimed, "And I will love thee still my dear, Till a' the seas gang dry" "And the rocks melt wi' the sun!", "While the sands o' life shall run." Here, the speaker has exaggerated his feeling of love to his beloved.

 

f. What is refrain? Why is it used in the poem? Explain citing an example from the poem.

→Refrain is a poetic device that refers to the repetition of lines at a certain interval. It is used to emphasize something and to produce rhythm in the poem. It is used to break up stanzas. We find refrain in the second, third, and fourth stanzas of the poem. We can find the repetition of the following lines in the poem.

And I will love thee still, my dear,

Till a' the seas gang dry.

And fare thee weel

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