Remorse: a Fragment by Robert Burns
Remorse is portrayed as the most severe of human sufferings because it arises from one’s own folly or guilt. Ordinary misfortune may be endured with the thought that it was not self-caused, but guilt adds the crueler accusation of self-blame. Its pain becomes especially terrible when a person’s wrongdoing has harmed young and innocent people who loved and trusted them, making that love itself a source of ruin. The speaker calls such consciousness of guilt a torment harsher than any punishment of hell, then praises the rare person who can face the horror of a crime, resolve to amend, and bring troubled thoughts back to peace.
By Robert Burns · First published 1794 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Philosophical Poetry, Moral Poetry · 270 words
First lines
Of all the numerous ills that hurt our peace, / That press the soul, or wring the mind with anguish / Beyond comparison the worst are those / By our own folly, or our guilt brought on: / In ev'ry other circumstance, the mind / Has this to say, "It was no deed of mine: " / But, when to all the evil of misfortune / This sting is added, "Blame thy foolish self! " / Or worser far, the pangs of keen remorse, / The torturing, gnawing consciousness of guilt- / Of guilt, perhaps, when we've involved others, / The young, the innocent, who fondly lov'd us; / Nay more, that very love their cause of ruin! / O burning hell! in all thy store of torments / There's not a keener lash! / Lives there a man so firm, who, while his heart / Feels all the bitter horrors of his crime, / Can reason down its agonizing throbs; / And, after proper purpose of amendment, / Can firmly force his jarring thoughts to peace? / O happy, happy, enviable man! / O glorious magnanimity of soul!
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Genres
- Lyric Poetry — The work is a short, highly concentrated verse meditation expressing intense personal and moral feeling rather than developing narrative action.
- Philosophical Poetry — It examines the nature of suffering, responsibility, conscience, guilt, and the possibility of restoring inner peace through moral amendment.
- Moral Poetry — Its central concern is the ethical consequence of wrongdoing, especially the self-inflicted anguish caused by folly, crime, and harm to innocent others.
- Meditative Poetry — The speaker reflects contemplatively on remorse, comparing externally caused misfortune with suffering produced by one's own guilt.
Tags
remorse · guilt · self-blame · moral responsibility · conscience · sin and wrongdoing · psychological torment · anguish · human suffering · folly · crime · innocence harmed
What this Textopian page supports
Remorse: a Fragment is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1794 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: 1794 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Philosophical Poetry, Moral Poetry, Meditative Poetry, Didactic Poetry
- Length: 270 words
- Structure: 1 section, 1 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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