Love in the Guise of Friendship by Robert Burns
The speaker values the happiness that friendship with another person brings and begs that it not be destroyed by a request for love. Knowing that the requested love will be refused, the speaker urges the other person to conceal any loving feelings rather than force the loss of a deeply desired friendship.
By Robert Burns · First published 1786 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Friendship Poetry · 73 words
First lines
Your friendship much can make me blest, / O why that bliss destroy! / Why urge the only, one request / You know I will deny!
Your thought, if Love must harbour there, / Conceal it in that thought; / Nor cause me from my bosom tear / The very friend I sought.
Similar titles
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- Verses To Clarinda by Robert Burns
- The Parting Kiss by Robert Burns
- It Is Na Jean Thy Bonie Face by Robert Burns
- Three Years Old by Ella Wheeler Wilcox
- O Lady Fair And Sweet by Robert Louis Stevenson
Genres
- Lyric Poetry — A brief, emotionally concentrated poem expressing a speaker's intimate personal response to a friend's unwanted romantic love.
- Love Poetry — The poem directly concerns love, specifically the conflict created when romantic desire threatens an existing friendship.
- Friendship Poetry — Its central concern is preserving valued friendship despite the friend's declaration or pursuit of love.
- Romantic Poetry — The work treats private feeling, emotional sincerity, love, and interpersonal tension in a compact lyrical mode.
Tags
love poetry · friendship · unrequited love · refused romance · platonic affection · emotional restraint · concealed feelings · romantic boundaries · fear of losing friendship · personal address · lyric poem · two-stanza poem
What this Textopian page supports
Love in the Guise of Friendship is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1786 CE.
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: 1786 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Friendship Poetry, Romantic Poetry, Scottish Poetry
- Length: 73 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Love in the Guise of Friendship by Robert Burns
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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