Out of vast difference can arise striking parity. EDITHERE.

Such is the case with

the two poems “A Red, Red Rose,” by Robert Burns, and “To My Dear and Loving

Husband,” by Anne Bradstreet. Though both are written by authors of differing

backgrounds, each illustrates a very positive view of love.

Anne Bradstreet’s outlook on life and love grew from her experiences as a young

woman and one of the first colonists in America. She emigrated from England to the New

World on the Arabella in 1630, alongside the founders of the Massachusetts Bay colony.

Witnessing copious death and great hardships, Bradstreet became unwaveringly devoted

to her husband. When “To My Dear and Loving Husband” was written in 1641, they had

been married thirteen years—a significant part of one’s life in seventeenth century

America. Bradstreet’s worldly view of love is especially evident in her use of paradox;

line twelve, which reads, “That when we live no more, we may live ever,” perpetuates the

author’s hopefulness and desire rather than a conviction. As an educated and faithful

wife and mother, Bradstreet was a paragon of Puritan ideals in the early colonial era—in

contrast, Robert Burns was a young romantic revolutionary. An affluent gentleman

during the Enlightenment, he was held as the national poet of Scotland; however, known

for his casual love affairs with numerous women, Burns’ moral reputation was starkly

contrary to his literary standing. His naïveté in love is evident in Burns’ enthusiasm and

assuredness. “A Red, Red Rose” is characterized by a run of exclamatory sentences in the

last stanza, expressing Burns’ profound emotion—one closer to infatuation and adulation

than true love: “And fare thee weel my only Luve! / And I will come again, my Luve, /

Tho’ it were ten thousand mile!” The mere declaration that the recipient of this poem is

his only love unveils the prominence of fervor over lasting and honest affection; in his
thirty-seven years on earth, Burns never truly settled down or even settled on any one

woman.

Despite vast disparity between the two author’s histories, “A Red, Red Rose” and

“To My Dear and Loving Husband” exhibit remarkable similarity; most notably, the

pieces have near-identical themes. Both works are written directly to a lover, as

evidenced by the use and context of a second-person point of view; for example, lines 11

& 12 of “A Red, Red Rose” read, “And I will love thee still, my Dear, / Till all the seas

gang dry,” and Bradstreet addresses her husband in phrases such as, “Thy love is such I

can no way repay” in line 9. Imagery in both works emphasizes a deep, even everlasting

love between author and recipient, like Burns’ declaration on line 12 that he will love his

“bonnie lass” “While the sands o’life shall run,” and Bradstreet’s on line 7 that “My love

is such that Rivers cannot quench.” Despite differences in the authors’ backgrounds, the

poems’ themes seem near identical. Both make a statement about the vast power and

expanse of love.

Though both authors speak highly of love, I tend to agree more with Bradstreet in

that love is something to be treasured and persevered for. Love is an amazing thing to

give and to have, but Burns’ view neglects the hardships that one experiences for love.