A Comparative Study of A Pledge and A Red Red Rose

Abstract： This passage focuses on the comparative study of two love poems. One is a Chinese poem named A Pledge， coming from Han-music office in the Han Dynasty， another British poem named A Red Red Rose written by Robert Burns. A Pledge can be considered as an oriental love classicwhile A Red Red Rose an occidental love classic. Coincidently， these two poems from different regions， different era similarly express the love view that the emotion will never fade until the seas run dry. There are quite a lot differences and similarities， reflecting the characteristics of the western and eastern culture and literature.

Key words： A Pledge， A Red Red Rose ； culture.

1. Introduction

1.1. An Introduction of A Pledge

It is a poem belongs to Han-music office. The language is simple with real and honest feelings but the poem owns strong power. The heroine swears to the heaven that she will love him forever till she dies. The beginning part setsa tone of a generous fit. Then she gives 3 examples that unless the high mountain become ground， or the river becomes dry， or the thunder appears in winter， snow in summer， Heaven and earth overlap together， she won’t be apart with him！ These ridiculous natural phenomenon shows author’s rich imagination and actually these could never happen， giving readers a kind of surprise of artistic effect.

1.2. An Introduction of A Red Red Rose

\"A Red， Red Rose\"written by Robert Burnsis 1794， actually it is a song at first， and is often published as a poem. The lyrics of the song are simple but effective. \"My luve's like a red， red rose/That's newly sprung in June\" describe a love that is both fresh and long lasting. Regardless of imagery， structure， or words， the poem appears to be natural and elegant.. The whole poem is full of profuse love and romance. The entire universe can change and be destroyed， but only love can last forever.

2. The Differences of A Pledge and A Red Red Rose

2.1. The Content

As the poem is short and simple， we can’t judge the lover’s appearance or personality. The thing we only know is that she loves him deeply. Different from A Pledge， A Red Red Rose describes the lover in details. We can feel that the lady is beautiful， gentle， and kind. Therefore， we can see that the Chinese poem A Pledge focus on the natural things and pay less attention to the people while A Red Red Rose prefers write more about the lover rather than other things.

The speakers in these two poems have different moods. In A Pledge， the heroine， we can guess that her marriage is controlled by her parents and she can’t be together with her lover. So she is depressed and frustrated， the woman cried at this time to the heaven and earth to express her declaration of love， which reflects the woman's frustrated manner and regret. In the A Red Red Rose， the man with a happy mood of excitement writes their love， and after readers read the poem， they will be infected by the man’s optimism. The hero loves his lover so much. Through the poem readers can't help image the two live in a sweet life.

2.2.The Writing Method.

In A Pledge， syllables are short and urgent， and letters ups and downs， imposing enough. It is an exhibition of the heroine’s feelings of rhythm from heart. In A Red Red Rose ， the syllables is slow， gentle， simple， as if the poet was softly chanting with his love beside readers’ ears： His lover is a red， red rose in June， gracefully and beautifully blossom. The Chinese folk song is full of whim. By using the five hypotheses， successfully foil the atmosphere. With his pure and sincere voice， the hero in A Red Red Rose is singing the beautiful love， simple and vivid， different from A Pledge. The Chinese poem mainly uses assumptions and technique， the other is a main metaphor.

Sentence in A Red Red Rose uses synaesthesia technique， from the Angle of vision， smell and hearing， multiply painting the lover. Itis written in four four-line stanzas， consisting of alternating tetrameter and trimeter lines. This poem has used the repeated sentences， which greatly increases the strength of the feelings of the poetry.

The poem A Pledge sets oath from the opposite side and uses irony， which not only greatly strengthen the oath of the component， but also reveals the inner world of the characters in a more profound way. Under normal circumstances， the hill is unswervingly and solid， water is of long standing and well established， and it is reasonable to snow in winter and thunder in summer， high thickness is remain unchanged. All this can be used to symbolize as love character as well as represent her love view.

3.The Similarities of A Pledge and A Red Red Rose

3.1.The Content

The two poems both are romantic poems. The two poems are burst fire the same passion of love. Using highly exaggerated expression，the two authors successfully shows their love. Hugo once said——poets have two eyes， one is called observation， another imagination. The author's eyes are very open， and the nature is invited into the poem by the poet， letting the natural strong vitality to foil their love deeply. The feeling of love sometimes is invisible， but the power of nature can be seen. The authors use the help of tangible thing to express the intangible feeling， which is clever and ingenious. Interestingly， both of poems mention that the speaker will always keep his or her love till all the seas or rivers go dry. They do have the same spiritual essence. Also， the emotions are engraved on the consciousness of time and space. Time shuttles in the development of change of the space， the poet’s ideal love will never fade in the river of time like natural things. Let readers have plaint of the firmness in the power of love.

3.2.The Writing Method.

Both the two authors of the excellent love work are not playboy but common people who understand daily necessities. So in terms of expressing affection， there is less circuitous and vague way but blunt and straight.

Both the poem’s rhythm is beautiful， and easy to sing. A Pledge is cooperated with the music from West Region. The rhythm of A Red Red Rose is beautiful， too. Two poems are cleverly used the form of dialogue. With a long monologue， the two poems pour out directly by the first person method， and adopt colloquial language a lot. With the help of the heroine's words， A Pledge gives the love Confession， incisively and vividly shows her loyalty to the love. Poet expresses their deep love affectionately. There are dialogues in the poetry， lively and quite expressive， and full of breath of life.

4.Conclusion

The implicative China's love poems always have euphemism， and English love poems are enthusiastic， bold and unrestrained. A Pledge and A Red Red Rose are both Excellent works in the history of poetry， and have much in common in the conception and imagination.

As cultural exchange is becoming more and more frequent， expression and skill of love poetry are changeable， and poets learn from each other. As the mutual penetration in Chinese and western communication is obvious， and the realization of globalization of culture， the Chinese and western love poetry will complement each other and obtain a promising development.

Works Cited

[1] Zhangchunqing. A Study of Comparison and Difference Causes of Western and Eastern Classical Love Poems [J]Authority（2012）：88

[2] Luyi. A Study of the Comparison of A Pledge and A Red Red Rose[J]. China Education Innovation Herald. （2010）： 163-164

[3] Hugaiping. Love Through Time and Space： the Time and Space View in A Red Red Rose[J]. Journal of Mudanjiang University. （2011）： 55-56

[4] Liyiying，Tangmeixiu. Appreciation of the English Translation of the A Pledge by Wangrongpei[J]. Foreign Languages and Their Teaching. （1998）： 48.