Poem on Sensibility by Robert Burns
Addressing Nancy, the speaker acknowledges her knowledge of sensibility’s pleasures and of severe distress. A lily felled by wind and a woodlark vulnerable to predators illustrate how finer feelings bring both pleasure and deep sorrow.
By Robert Burns · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Sentimental Poetry · 140 words
First lines
Sensibility, how charming, / Dearest Nancy, thou canst tell; / But distress, with horrors arming, / Thou alas! hast known too well!
Fairest flower, behold the lily / Blooming in the sunny ray: / Let the blast sweep o'er the valley, / See it prostrate in the clay.
Hear the wood lark charm the forest, / Telling o'er his little joys; / But alas! a prey the surest / To each pirate of the skies.
Dearly bought the hidden treasure / Finer feelings can bestow: / Chords that vibrate sweetest pleasure / Thrill the deepest notes of woe.
What this Textopian page supports
Poem on Sensibility 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, Sentimental Poetry
- Length: 140 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Poem on Sensibility by Robert Burns
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Genres
- Lyric Poetry — Four rhymed stanzas address Nancy and reflect on the pleasures and suffering of emotional sensitivity.
- Sentimental Poetry — The speaker presents finer feelings as a source of both sweet pleasure and profound sorrow.
Tags
sensibility · emotional sensitivity · pleasure · sorrow · vulnerability