A Red, Red, Rose

A Red, Red Rose by Robert Burns is the poem I chose to read in the Poetry Out Loud recitation in our AP Lit class.  This poem is basically just a proclamation of love for the subject, whether it be a man or a woman.  The reason I say a man or a woman is because it never specifies which gender the author is speaking to, so no assumptions are necessary.  First of all, what I think is special about this poem is the diction; it has very old fashioned, nineteenth century language which makes the poem very unique.  Also, I was right when I thought these special words would help make the poem easier to memorize because it took very little time for me to lock into my memory.  However, one of my audience members may beg to differ on this point considering I had a complete mental block the moment I entered the third stanza.  Oh well.  Another reason I chose to recite A Red, Red Rose was because I enjoy the message of the poem.  It is just a sincere, innocent profession of love to a person and I love the ending line "and I will come again, my luve, though it were ten thousand mile."  It beautifully wraps the entire meaning of the poem into one simple statement.  This person will do anything to be with the subject even if it takes much effort such as traveling ten thousand miles.  I can assume the ten thousand miles part is an exaggeration but still, the importance comes across clearly with the use of hyperbole.  Also, in the beginning stanza the poem starts off very innocently and simply comparing this person's love to a red rose that has been recently bloomed and also to melody that is nicely played in tune.  This simplicity is something to marvel at and it surely caught my eye when I was searching for poems.