17591796 Ae Fond Kiss What do we understand from the title of the poem Ae fond kiss and then we sever Ae fareweel and then forever Deep in heartwrung tears Ill pledge thee Warring sighs and groans Ill wage thee ID: 717054
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Slide1
Ae Fond Kiss
By Robert Burns
1759-1796Slide2
Ae Fond Kiss
What do we understand from the title of the poem?Slide3
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever; Ae fareweel, and then forever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee, Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee. Who shall say that Fortune grieves him, While the star of hope she leaves him? Me,
nae
cheerfu
’ twinkle lights me; Dark despair around benights me. I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy, Naething could resist my Nancy: But to see her was to love her; Love but her, and love for ever.
Had we never
lov'd
sae kindly,
Had we never
lov'd
sae blindly,
Never met-or never
parted-
We had ne'er been broken-hearted.
Fare-thee-
weel
, thou first and fairest!
Fare-thee-
weel
, thou best and dearest!
Thine be ilka joy and treasure,
Peace, Enjoyment, Love and Pleasure!
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever!
Ae
fareweel
,
alas,
forever
!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.Slide4
AO3: ContextSlide5
Robert Burns1759-1796
National poet of ScotlandBurns was born in Alloway, just south of Ayr. His parents were tenant farmers and Burns was no stranger to physical labour. His parents ensured he had a good education and he was an avid reader. His passions were poetry, nature, drink and
women. He married and fathered twins, but almost left his wife and emigrated with his lover to the West Indies. It was only her sudden death that kept him in Scotland.
By the time he was 27, he was famous across Scotland and was hailed as ‘the ploughman poet’ because his poetry
complemented the growing literary taste for
romanticism and pastoral pleasures. He moved to Edinburgh and continued his affairs, fathering illegitimate children. His political views became increasingly radical.He spent his earnings quickly and took a job as an Excise Officer to survive. The hard work this job entailed, along with the effects of his earlier lifestyle, led to his death at 37, following a dental extraction. A memorial edition of his poems was published to support his wife and children.Slide6
Burns and Agnes ‘Nancy’ McLehose
Whilst in Edinburgh, Burns met the already married Agnes ‘Nancy’ McLehose and began a relationship with her. They exchanged letters using the pseudonyms of ‘Clarinda’ for Agnes and ‘Sylvander’ for Burns. When she met Burns, Agnes had left her husband due
to his mental cruelty and depression. She was
determined to meet Burns and invited him to tea after their initial meeting via a friend. They began a love affair via
letters but she resisted his physical advances and he
had a child with her maid instead.They maintained their love affair until she decided to return to her husband in Jamaica. She left Edinburgh in 1791. Nancy wrote in her journal: "This day I can never forget. Parted with Burns, in the year 1791, never more to meet in this world. Oh, may we meet in Heaven!“Burns wrote ‘Ae Fond Kiss’ for Agnes and sent it to her, along with other songs he had written for her, after she had reconciled with her husband. He kept a silhouette of her until his death.Slide7
AO2: Language and ImagerySlide8
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae fareweel, and then, forever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
War
ring
sighs and groans I'll wage thee. What is the poet saying here?
Lines 2 and 3 could easily be part of the same sentence. Why has Burns separated them with the exclamation mark at the end of line 2? What is the effect of this?
‘Sever’ suggests a sudden, painful and
final
parting, but this is a ‘fond’ kiss.
Is the speaker bitter?
Alliteration
reinforces finality
1. ‘Wage’ = a pledge or promise – the ‘sighs and groans’ are the price he pays for their parting.
2. The ‘sighs and groans’ are waging war inside him – this is reinforced by the
onomatopoeia
of ‘sigh’ (an open sound) and ‘groan’ (a closed sound); these contrasting sounds signify an internal battle representing his pain at parting.Slide9
Who shall say that Fortune grieves him, While the star of hope she leaves him?
Me, nae cheerful twinkle lights me; Dark despair around
benights
me.
‘Him’ = all men. (If you still have the hope of a reunion then you are of good fortune…)
‘Me’ = the speaker
What is the poet saying here?
How does the speaker contrast himself with all men?
‘Star’ = a glimmer
AO4: What other poems contain the idea of love as a guiding light in the darkness? Slide10
I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy, Naething
could resist my Nancy: But to see her was to love her; Love
but her, and
love
for ever.
i.e. partial to
Had we never
lov'd
sae kindly,
Had we never
lov'd
sae blindly,
Never met-or never parted,
We had ne'er been broken-hearted.
Why is it ironic that he calls her ‘my’ Nancy?
What is the poet saying here?
Look at the way the poet clusters the words ‘love’ and ‘
lov’d
’ together. What is significant about their placement? [Hint: look at the whole poem.]Slide11
Fare-thee-weel, thou first and
fairest! Fare-thee-weel, thou best and dearest! Thine be ilka joy and treasure, Peace, Enjoyment, Love and Pleasure!
‘ilka’ = every
What is the poet saying here?
What are his wishes for his departing love? What does this indicate about how he feels?
What might the exclamation marks add to this? Slide12
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever! Ae fareweel,
alas, for ever! Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee, Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.This stanza is almost an exact replica of the first stanza. What is different? Why is this significant?
1. The end of the poem/moment of parting is near, so ‘alas’ expresses the speaker’s despair
2. It is the sound of another sigh (cf. ‘groans’/’sighs’)
3. The ‘a’ vowel sounds stand out in a poem which mostly features ‘
ee’, ‘e’, ‘ae’ and ‘o’
The repetition of (most of) the first stanza suggests that nothing has changed for the speaker: this is a goodbye, not a plea for change.
AO3:
In the original manuscript, ‘forever’ = ‘for ever’ (two distinct words). This forms a firmer stop at the end of ‘ever’ rather than the ongoing ‘forever’.
What could we say about this? Slide13
AO2: Form / StructureSlide14
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever; Ae fareweel, alas, for ever! Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee. Who shall say that Fortune grieves him, While the star of hope she leaves him? Me, nae cheerful twinkle lights me;
Dark despair around
benights
me.
I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy, Naething could resist my Nancy: But to see her was to love her; Love but her, and love for ever. Had we never lov'd
sae kindly,
Had we never
lov'd
sae blindly,
Never met-or never parted,
We had ne'er been broken-hearted.
Fare-thee-
weel
, thou first and fairest!
Fare-thee-
weel
, thou best and dearest!
Thine be ilka joy and treasure,
Peace, Enjoyment, Love and Pleasure! Ae fond kiss, and then we sever!
Ae fareweeli alas, for ever! Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee, Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.
Can you identify the rhyme scheme? Slide15
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever; Ae fareweel, alas, for ever! Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee. Who shall say that Fortune grieves him, While the star of hope she leaves him? Me, nae cheerful twinkle lights me;
Dark despair around
benights
me.
I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy, Naething could resist my Nancy: But to see her was to love her; Love but her, and love for ever. Had we never lov'd
sae kindly,
Had we never
lov'd
sae blindly,
Never met-or never parted,
We had ne'er been broken-hearted.
Fare-thee-
weel
, thou first and fairest!
Fare-thee-
weel
, thou best and dearest!
Thine be ilka joy and treasure,
Peace, Enjoyment, Love and Pleasure! Ae fond kiss, and then we sever!
Ae fareweeli alas, for ever! Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee, Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.
Can you identify the rhyme scheme?
AABB
AABBAABB
A
A
B
B
A
A
B
B
A
A
B
B
The poem is written in simple
quatrains
. The
metre
puts a
stress
on the first
syllable
of every line and ends each line with an
unstressed syllable
(i.e.
feminine endings
), leading to
feminine rhymes
. This gives the poem a sad, falling rhythm.Slide16
AO4/5: Links and InterpretationsSlide17
“In the eighteenth century, sentiment was one of the most pervasive literary styles. This poem privileges feelings over intellect and offers sincerity rather than irony or wit. In addition the poem is written as a song (in which heartfelt emotion is commonplace). In this genre, a heartfelt outpouring of love is appropriate, rather than seeming to be overstated.”
-- Luke McBratney (2016)What links to other poems can we make?Slide18
“Burns’ use of different emotions associated with love helps to keep the poem from seeming cloying or repetitive: there is a subtle balancing of feelings of deep love and deep pain as he thinks about the imminent parting.” -- Luke McBratney
(2016)Do you agree?Slide19
AO1: What kind of love is presented in this poem?
Think about:
The characteristics of love
The representation of the people involved
The feelings of the speaker
Any imagery or language usedThe way the structure and form reflects this
You can either:
Write a side of A4 to explain your answer.
Write a detailed plan of your answer.
Make sure you include and analyse quotations from the text.Slide20
Fill in your CLIFS sheet for this poem. Remember, this will be a revision aid!