Address to the Woodlark by Robert Burns
A rejected lover asks a woodlark to repeat its tender song, hoping to learn how to touch the heart of the woman who disdains him. Imagining that the bird also suffers in love, he finally begs it to stop before its sorrowful notes break his heart.
By Robert Burns · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry · 177 words
First lines
Tune-"Loch Erroch Side."
O stay, sweet warbling woodlark, stay, / Nor quit for me the trembling spray, / A hapless lover courts thy lay, / Thy soothing, fond complaining. / Again, again that tender part, / That I may catch thy melting art; / For surely that wad touch her heart / Wha kills me wi' disdaining. / Say, was thy little mate unkind, / And heard thee as the careless wind? / Oh, nocht but love and sorrow join'd, / Sic notes o' woe could wauken! / Thou tells o' never-ending care; / O'speechless grief, and dark despair: / For pity's sake, sweet bird, nae mair! / Or my poor heart is broken.
Genres
- Lyric Poetry — The speaker addresses a woodlark in rhyming verse, moving from a plea for its song to an urgent expression of grief.
- Love Poetry — The speaker hopes the bird's tender song will help him move the woman who rejects him.
Tags
woodlark · birdsong · unrequited love · sorrow
What this Textopian page supports
Address to the Woodlark 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: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry
- Length: 177 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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