A Poet's Welcome To His Love Begotten Daughter: Form and Structure

A Poet’s Welcome To His Love Begotten Daughter: Form and Structure

Form and Structure:

Introductory Thoughts:

• “A Poet’s Welcome to His Love-Begotten Daughter” is a long, narrative monologue, arranged in quatrains, with an alternating rhyme scheme.
• Burns conceived it as a letter to his infant daughter, Frances Wallis Burns, known popularly as ‘Dear Bought Bess’.

Verse Structure:

• Each verse consists of four lines.
• It follows a standard Burns stanza, or strophe.
• The stanza’s rhyme scheme, known as Standard Habbie, is AAABAB.
• The lines’ meter is iambic.

Absence of Refrain:

• There’s no regular refrain or chorus for this poem.

Specific Burns Structure:

• The poem follows a specific structure known as Burns Stanza or Burns Stanzaic, a common structure for Burns’ poems.
• The first, second, and fifth lines are tetrameter, meaning they contain four metrical feet. The third and fourth lines are dimeter, containing two metrical feet.
• Each metrical foot typically contains one unstressed syllable followed by one stressed syllable, which is known as an iamb.

Lyricism:

• The poem can be viewed as a type of lyrical ballad.
• It is rich in musical quality.

Perspective:

• The viewpoint is that of Burns himself, speaking directly to his child.

Semantic Structure:

• Burns takes on various topics, switching mainly between different sentiments of pride, reproach, happiness, regret and paternal anxiety and hope.