Boy Johnny by Christina Georgina Rossetti
Boy Johnny offers to marry a lady if she dresses as a bride. When he asks who else would marry her, she replies that she will find her lover and have Johnny carry her wedding-train.
By Christina Georgina Rossetti · Genre: Poetry, Dialogue · 140 words
First lines
"If you'll busk you as a bride / And make ready, / It's I will wed you with a ring, / O fair lady."
"Shall I busk me as a bride, / I so bonny, / For you to wed me with a ring, / O boy Johnny?"
"When you've busked you as a bride / And made ready, / Who else is there to marry you, / O fair lady?"
"I will find my lover out, / I so bonny, / And you shall bear my wedding-train, / O boy Johnny. "
Genres
- Poetry — Four short stanzas alternate speakers, repeating phrases and rhyming their addresses to the lady and Johnny.
- Dialogue — The entire poem consists of Johnny's marriage offer and questions exchanged with the lady, ending in her reply.
Tags
courtship · marriage proposals · wedding attendants · dialogue
What this Textopian page supports
Boy Johnny is listed on Textopian as a poem by Christina Georgina Rossetti, dated Date unknown.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Christina Georgina Rossetti
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Poetry, Dialogue
- Length: 140 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
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- Work identity for Boy Johnny by Christina Georgina Rossetti
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- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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