Analysis of The Farewell
Robert Burns 1759 (Alloway) – 1796 (Dumfries)
IT was a' for our rightfu' King
We left fair Scotland's strand;
It was a' for our rightfu' King
We e'er saw Irish land,
My dear--
We e'er saw Irish land.
Now a' is done that men can do,
And a' is done in vain;
My love and native land, farewell,
For I maun cross the main,
My dear--
For I maun cross the main.
He turn'd him right and round about
Upon the Irish shore;
And gae his bridle-reins a shake,
With, Adieu for evermore,
My dear--
With, Adieu for evermore!
The sodger frae the wars returns,
The sailor frae the main;
But I hae parted frae my love,
Never to meet again,
My dear--
Never to meet again.
When day is gane, and night is come,
And a' folk bound to sleep,
I think on him that 's far awa',
The lee-lang night, and weep,
My dear--
The lee-lang night, and weep.
Scheme | AbABCB xdxDCD xexECE xdxFCF xgxGCG |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Etheree (37%) Tetractys (27%) |
Metre | 11011011 111101 11011011 1101101 11 1101101 10111111 001101 1101011 111101 11 111101 11110101 010101 01110101 101110 11 101110 0110101 010101 11110111 101101 11 101101 11110111 001111 11111111 011101 11 011101 |
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 841 |
Words | 156 |
Sentences | 6 |
Stanzas | 5 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 30 |
Letters per line (avg) | 19 |
Words per line (avg) | 5 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 113 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 31 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on April 24, 2023
- 48 sec read
- 211 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"The Farewell" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/30572/the-farewell>.
Discuss this Robert Burns poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In