My Peggy's Charms by Robert Burns
“My Peggy’s Charms” praises Peggy as a woman whose beauty, character, and inner goodness possess enduring power. Her face and form could warm even the coldness of old age, while her worth and mind could captivate the greatest of humankind. The speaker admires her angelic air, heavenly fairness, and natural grace, but values her heart above all. Physical attractions such as the lily’s colour, the rose’s blush, and bright eyes are acknowledged as powerful yet temporary. Peggy’s true, immortal charms are her tenderness, compassion, generosity, and gentle expression, which can calm anger.
By Robert Burns · First published 1792 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Romantic Poetry · 172 words
First lines
Tune-"Tha a' chailleach ir mo dheigh."
My Peggy's face, my Peggy's form, / The frost of hermit Age might warm; / My Peggy's worth, my Peggy's mind, / Might charm the first of human kind.
I love my Peggy's angel air, / Her face so truly heavenly fair, / Her native grace, so void of art, / But I adore my Peggy's heart.
The lily's hue, the rose's dye, / The kindling lustre of an eye; / Who but owns their magic sway! / Who but knows they all decay!
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Genres
- Lyric Poetry — A short, song-like first-person poem expressing concentrated personal feeling and admiration for Peggy.
- Love Poetry — The speaker celebrates his beloved's beauty, grace, moral worth, tenderness, and enduring emotional appeal.
- Romantic Poetry — Its idealization of love, natural beauty, sincere emotion, and inner virtue strongly aligns with Romantic poetic concerns.
- Song — The work is explicitly designated for a tune and uses regular stanzas, rhyme, and melodic phrasing suited to performance.
Tags
love lyric · Scottish song · eighteenth-century poetry · romantic admiration · idealized beloved · female beauty · inner beauty · virtue · compassion · generosity · tenderness · gentleness
What this Textopian page supports
My Peggy's Charms is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1792 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: 1792 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Romantic Poetry, Song, Scottish Poetry
- Length: 172 words
- Structure: 1 section, 5 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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