Address to the Shade of Thomson by Robert Burns

Spring greens Eden's banks, Summer retreats to Dryburgh's shade and watches grain grow, Autumn feeds creatures beside the Tweed, and Winter storms over the hills above Yarrow. The speaker declares that Thomson's laurel wreath will flourish as long as the seasons continue, while Scotland claims him as her son.

By Robert Burns · Genre: Literary Tribute, Nature Poetry · 206 words

First lines

On Crowning His Bust at Ednam, Roxburghshire, with a Wreath of Bays.

While virgin Spring by Eden's flood, / Unfolds her tender mantle green, / Or pranks the sod in frolic mood, / Or tunes Eolian strains between.

While Summer, with a matron grace, / Retreats to Dryburgh's cooling shade, / Yet oft, delighted, stops to trace / The progress of the spiky blade.

While Autumn, benefactor kind, / By Tweed erects his aged head, / And sees, with self-approving mind, / Each creature on his bounty fed.

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Genres

• Literary Tribute — The address accompanies the crowning of Thomson's bust with bays and promises that his wreath will continue to bloom.
• Nature Poetry — Four stanzas personify the seasons through green growth, ripening grain, autumn bounty, torrents and snow.

Tags

seasons · Scottish landscape · personification · laurel wreath · poetic remembrance

What this Textopian page supports

Address to the Shade of Thomson is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, 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: Robert Burns
• Date: Date unknown
• Language: English
• Genres: Literary Tribute, Nature Poetry
• Length: 206 words
• Structure: 1 section, 6 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)

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• Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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More by Robert Burns

• Handsome Nell (1808)
• O Tibbie, I Hae Seen the Day (1786)
• I Dream'D I Lay (1792)
• In the Character of a Ruined Farmer (1786)
• Tragic Fragment (1786)
• The Tarbolton Lasses (1808)
• Ah, Woe is me, my Mother Dear (1808)
• Montgomerie's Peggy (1790)
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