Anna Thy Charms
written in 1788
Anna Thy Charms - context Summary
Composed in 1788
Robert Burns' brief lyric, written in 1788, addresses a woman named Anna and captures the speaker's anxious admiration. The poem contrasts consuming, hopeless longing with a sudden softening of despair when the beloved appears. In two short stanzas the speaker admits his soul is "wasted" by care yet insists that, in Anna's presence, hope can be pardoned and even necessary: to despair would be improper when confronted with such heavenly beauty. The piece functions as an immediate, personal confession of love and conflicted feeling.
Read Complete AnalysesAnna, thy charms my bosom fire, And waste my soul with care; But ah! how bootless to admire, When fated to despair! Yet in thy presence, lovely Fair , To hope may be forgiven; For sure 'twere impious to despair So much in sight of heaven.
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