A Poet's Welcome To His Love Begotten Daughter: Stanzas 1 and 2

A Poet’s Welcome To His Love Begotten Daughter: Stanzas 1 and 2

“A Poet’s Welcome To His Love Begotten Daughter”: Stanzas 1 and 2

Context and Overview:

  • The opening two stanzas of “A Poet’s Welcome To His Love Begotten Daughter” set the scene for the entire poem.
  • The poem is composed in Scots dialect, reflecting Burns’ cultural background and reinforcing the authenticity of his voice.
  • Burns addresses his newborn daughter, Elizabeth (‘Dear Bought Bess’), expressing joy and wonder at her birth.

Theme Exploration:

  • Birth and Parenthood: Burns begins by addressing his daughter as ‘Thou sweet wee lass’ showing his affection and pride.
  • Social norms and hypocrisies: Burns refers to his daughter as a ‘winsome marrow’, a socially unacceptable child, thereby critiquing societal judgements.
  • Nature and Innocence: The term ‘winsome marrow’ also equates the child to a fresh and pure part of nature, underscoring the innocence of the infant.

Characterisation and Development:

  • Burns’ love and pride for his daughter is evident in lines like ‘My heart rejoiced shall see’, signifying his emotions at her birth.
  • The infant’s innocence and her potential future are implied through the hopes projected onto her by Burns.

Language use and Imagery:

  • The Scots dialect and conversational tone render the poem more personal and emotionally intense.
  • In the phrase ‘The helpless infant in her arms’, Burns utilises potent imagery to evoke the vulnerability and purity of a newborn.
  • Burns employs metaphoric expressions such as ‘winsome marrow’, symbolising his daughter’s freshness, innocence, and the societal bias for her being an illegitimate child.

Stylistic Elements:

  • The use of rhythm and rhyme attributes a melodic quality to the poem, reflecting Burns’ proclivity for music.
  • The AABB rhyme scheme aids the flow of the poem, enhancing the readers’ engagement.
  • Employing alliteration in phrases such as ‘fatherly fond’ and ‘bairnie blythe’ offers a running musicality that also underlines Burns’ fondness for his newborn.