O Bonie Was Yon Rosy Brier
written in 1795
O Bonie Was Yon Rosy Brier - meaning Summary
Love as Sweeter Than Beauty
This brief pastoral celebrates romantic devotion by comparing a wild rose and its morning dew to the purity and sweetness of a lover’s vow. The speaker admires natural beauty—a rosy brier, buds, and a crimson flower—but insists that love surpasses these charms amid life’s hardships. A quiet scene with Chloris in his arms conveys willingness to leave worldly desires and accept both joy and sorrow for the sake of that love. The poem frames affection as a sheltering, moral force that outshines isolated beauty and sustains the speaker through life’s thorns.
Read Complete AnalysesO bonie was yon rosy brier, That blooms sae far frae haunt o' man; And bonie she, and ah, how dear! It shaded frae the e'enin sun. Yon rosebuds in the morning dew How pure, amang the leaves sae green; But purer was the lover's vow They witness'd in their shade yestreen . All in its rude and prickly bower That crimson rose how sweet and fair; But love is far a sweeter flower Amid life's thorny path o' care. The pathless, wild and wimpling burn, Wi' Chloris in my arms, be mine; And I the warld nor wish nor scorn, Its joys and griefs alike resign.
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