Poetry & Analysis
Selected Poems
Sad PoemsI Shall Forget You Presently My Dear
I shall forget you presently, my dear,
So make the most of this, your little day,
Your little month, your little half a year,
Ere I forget, or die, or move away,
And we are done forever; by and by
I shall forget you, as I said, but now,
If you entreat me with your loveliest lie
I will protest you with my favorite vow.
I would indeed that love were longer-lived,
And vows were not so brittle as they are,
But so it is, and nature has contrived
To struggle on without a break thus far,—
Whether or not we find what we are seeking
Is idle, biologically speaking.
Overview Short Summary
The poem treats romantic promises as fragile and temporary, mixing sadness with wit and emotional realism.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Temporary love: The speaker expects affection to fade.
- Broken vows: Promises are shown as brittle.
- Emotional honesty: The poem refuses sentimental comfort.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is ironic, frank, and sad beneath its wit. The mood is emotionally realistic rather than melodramatic.
What Do I Care
What do I care, in the dreams and the languor of spring,
That my songs do not show me at all?
For they are a fragrance, and I am a flint and a fire,
I am an answer, they are only a call.
But what do I care, for love will be over so soon,
Let my heart have its say and my mind stand idly by,
For my mind is proud and strong enough to be silent,
It is my heart that makes my songs, not I.
Overview Short Summary
The speaker accepts that love may end quickly, but still lets the heart speak through song while it can.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Love’s brevity: The poem admits love may be over soon.
- Heart versus mind: Feeling speaks where pride stays silent.
- Emotional expression: Songs carry what the self cannot fully explain.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is proud yet vulnerable. The mood is brief, lyrical, and quietly sad.
Friendship After Love
After the fierce midsummer all ablaze
Has burned itself to ashes, and expires
In the intensity of its own fires,
There come the mellow, mild, St. Martin days
Crowned with the calm of peace, but sad with haze.
So after Love has led us, till he tires
Of his own throes, and torments, and desires,
Comes large-eyed friendship: with a restful gaze,
He beckons us to follow, and across
Cool verdant vales we wander free from care.
Is it a touch of frost lies in the air?
Why are we haunted with a sense of loss?
We do not wish the pain back, or the heat;
And yet, and yet, these days are incomplete.
Overview Short Summary
The poem describes what remains after passionate love becomes friendship: peace, calm, and a lingering sense of loss.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Love changing form: Romance cools into friendship.
- After heartbreak: Peace arrives, but not complete happiness.
- Emotional incompleteness: The absence of passion still hurts.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is reflective and mature. The mood is calm but haunted.
Ae Fond Kiss
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 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 forever.
Had we never loved sae kindly,
Had we never loved 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.
Overview Short Summary
The poem is a farewell to a beloved, admitting that deep love has made parting almost unbearable.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Goodbye: The repeated farewell makes separation feel final.
- Broken heart: The speaker says love and parting have caused heartbreak.
- Blessing the beloved: Even in sorrow, the speaker wishes the beloved joy.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is passionate, sorrowful, and generous. The mood is deeply emotional and farewell-driven.
A Red Red Rose
O my Luve is like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve is like the melody
That’s sweetly played in tune.
So fair art thou, my bonnie lass,
So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry.
Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;
I will love thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.
And fare thee weel, my only luve!
And fare thee weel awhile!
And I will come again, my luve,
Though it were ten thousand mile.
Overview Short Summary
The poem is famous for devotion, but its ending also carries distance, farewell, and the pain of leaving someone loved.
Core Ideas Main Themes
- Distance: The beloved is left with a promise to return.
- Devotion: Love is imagined as lasting beyond nature’s limits.
- Farewell: The ending turns romance into separation.
Emotional Effect Tone and Mood
The tone is romantic and loyal, with a bittersweet final mood.
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