Ae Fond Kiss
written in 1791
Ae Fond Kiss - context Summary
Composed for a Doomed Love
Written in 1791, "Ae Fond Kiss" is a brief, plaintive farewell Burns composed for his lover Nancy McLehose during a close but ultimately doomed relationship. The speaker accepts unavoidable separation while pledging enduring affection and mourning the pain of parting. The poem balances resignation and tenderness: the narrator refuses to blame his love, laments lost hopes, and yet wishes the beloved joy despite his own heartbreak. Its repeated farewells and concentrated emotional address create an elegiac, intimate mood suited to a personal goodbye.
Read Complete AnalysesAe fond kiss, and then we sever; Ae fareweel, and then for ever! 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 for ever. Had we never lov'd sae kindly, Had we never lov'd 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, for ever! Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee, Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee.
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