Sonnet on the Death of Robert Riddell
Mourning his friend Riddell, the speaker finds birdsong, spring and flowers painful because they surround his friend's grave. He then asks the birds for notes of lament and says future springs will bring him memories of his loss while others greet them joyfully.
By Robert Burns · Genre: Elegy, Sonnet · 188 words
First lines
Of Glenriddell and Friars' Carse.
No more, ye warblers of the wood! no more; / Nor pour your descant grating on my soul; / Thou young-eyed Spring! gay in thy verdant stole, / More welcome were to me grim Winter's wildest roar.
How can ye charm, ye flowers, with all your dyes? / Ye blow upon the sod that wraps my friend! / How can I to the tuneful strain attend? / That strain flows round the untimely tomb where Riddell lies.
Yes, pour, ye warblers! pour the notes of woe, / And soothe the Virtues weeping o'er his bier: / The man of worth-and hath not left his peer! / Is in his "narrow house," for ever darkly low.
Genres
- Elegy — The speaker mourns his dead friend Riddell, asks birds for mournful song and anticipates remembering his loss when spring returns.
- Sonnet — Fourteen rhymed lines move from rejecting spring and birdsong to requesting lament, then close with a couplet about enduring loss.
Tags
mourning · friendship · spring · birdsong · remembrance · sonnet
What this Textopian page supports
Sonnet on the Death of Robert Riddell is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated Date unknown.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Robert Burns
- Date: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Elegy, Sonnet
- Length: 188 words
- Structure: 1 section, 5 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)
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