Analysis of To Mary In Heaven

Robert Burns 1759 (Alloway) – 1796 (Dumfries)



Thou lingering star, with less'ning ray,
That lov'st to greet the early morn,
Again thou usherast in the day
My Mary from my soul was torn.
O Mary, dear departed shade
Where is thy place of blissful rest?
See'st thou thy lover lowly laid?
Hear'st thou the groans that rend his breast?

That sacred hour can I forget?
Can I forget the hallow'd grove
Where, by the winding Ayr, we met,
To live one day of parting love?
Eternity cannot efface
Those records dear of transports past,
15Thy image at our last embrace--
Ah! little thought we 'twas our last!

Ayr, gurgling, kiss'd his pebbled shore,
O'erhung with wild-woods, thickening green;
The fragrant birch and hawthorn hoar,
Twin'd amorous round the raptur'd scene;
The flowers sprang wanton to be prest
The birds sang love on every spray
Till too, too soon, the glowing west,
Proclaim'd the speed of winged day.

Still o'er these scenes my mem'ry wakes,
And fondly broods with miser-care;
Time but th' impression stronger makes,
As streams their channels deeper wear.
O Mary! dear departed shade! 30
Where is thy place of blissful rest?
See'st thou thy lover lowly laid?
Hear'st thou the groans that rend his breast?


Scheme ababcDCD exexfgfg hihidada jkjkcDCD
Poetic Form
Metre 110011111 11110101 0111001 11011111 11010101 11111101 111110101 111011111 110101101 11010101 11010111 11111101 01001001 10111011 110110101 110111101 11001111 11111001 0101011 11001011 010110111 011111001 11110101 0101111 11011111 01011101 1111010101 11110101 11010101 11111101 111110101 111011111
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,169
Words 203
Sentences 16
Stanzas 4
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8
Lines Amount 32
Letters per line (avg) 28
Words per line (avg) 6
Letters per stanza (avg) 227
Words per stanza (avg) 50
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 10, 2023

1:05 min read
129

Robert Burns

Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and lyricist. more…

All Robert Burns poems | Robert Burns Books

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