Beware o' Bonie Ann by Robert Burns
The speaker warns handsome young gallants to beware of bonie Ann, whose graceful beauty is powerful enough to ensnare their hearts. Her bright, star-like eyes, swan-like skin, and slender, elegantly laced waist make her irresistibly attractive. Youth, Grace, Love, and Pleasure seem to attend her, strengthening her charms and her power to conquer admirers. Though physical chains can bind only a person’s hands, love can enslave a man completely; therefore, the speaker repeats the warning against Ann.
By Robert Burns · First published 1792 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Scottish Vernacular Poetry · 165 words
First lines
Ye gallants bright, I rede you right, / Beware o' bonie Ann; / Her comely face sae fu' o' grace, / Your heart she will trepan: / Her een sae bright, like stars by night, / Her skin sae like the swan; / Sae jimply lac'd her genty waist, / That sweetly ye might span.
Youth, Grace, and Love attendant move, / And pleasure leads the van: / In a' their charms, and conquering arms, / They wait on bonie Ann. / The captive bands may chain the hands, / But love enslaves the man: / Ye gallants braw, I rede you a', / Beware o' bonie Ann!
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Genres
- Lyric Poetry — A short, songlike verse focused on personal feeling, admiration, and romantic attraction rather than narrative development.
- Love Poetry — The poem centers on Bonie Ann's beauty and the irresistible power of love to captivate men.
- Scottish Vernacular Poetry — Burns employs Scots diction and idiom, including terms such as 'bonie,' 'sae,' 'een,' and 'gallants braw.'
- Warning Poem — Its repeated imperative, 'Beware o' bonie Ann,' frames the poem as a humorous caution to gallants vulnerable to her charms.
Tags
Scottish poetry · Scots language · lyric poem · love song · romantic attraction · female beauty · bewitching beauty · courtship · gallants · warning · love as captivity · enslavement by love
What this Textopian page supports
Beware o' Bonie Ann is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1792 CE.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Robert Burns
- Date: 1792 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Scottish Vernacular Poetry, Warning Poem, Pastoral Poetry
- Length: 165 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
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