Ae Fond Kiss
By Robert Burns
(1)
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae fareweel, and then for ever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I’ll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I’ll wage thee.
Who shall say that fortune grieves him
While the star of hope she leaves him?
Me, nae cheerfu’ twinkle lights me;
Dark despair around benights me.
(2)
I’ll ne’er blame my partial fancy,
Naething could resist my Nancy;
But to see her, was to love her;
Love but her, and love for ever. —
Had we never lov’d sae kindly,
Had we never lov’d sae blindly,
Never met — or never parted,
We had ne’er been broken hearted.
(3)
Fare thee weel, thou first and fairest!
Fare thee weel, thou best and dearest!
Thine be ilka joy and treasure,
Peace, enjoyment, love, and pleasure!
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;
Ae farewell, alas! for ever!
Deep in heart-wrung tears I’ll pledge thee,
Warring sighs and groans I’ll wage thee!
Note:
Believed to relate to the poet’s parting with Clarinda. “These exquisitely affecting stanzas,” says Scott, “contain the essence of a thousand love-tales.” They are in the Museum.
Poem Analysis:
Robert Burns’s “Ae Fond Kiss” is one of the most heartfelt and enduring love poems in the English and Scots literary canon. Written in 1791, it is believed to be a farewell to Agnes Maclehose — known as "Clarinda" — with whom Burns had a deep, though ultimately platonic, romantic connection. The poem captures the pain of parting, the bittersweet nature of love, and the resigned melancholy of farewell, all in a concise lyrical form that resonates with universality and emotional clarity.
Structure and Language
The poem consists of three stanzas, each with four rhyming couplets, which give it a song-like quality. Burns blends Standard English and Scots dialect ("ae" for "one," "naething" for "nothing," "ilka" for "every"), lending the poem both intimacy and authenticity. This mixture reflects the personal and cultural specificity of the poem, while its emotion transcends linguistic boundaries.
Themes
1. The Pain of Parting
The central theme of “Ae Fond Kiss” is heartbreak at separation. The repeated refrain:
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;Ae farewell, and then forever!
conveys the finality of the goodbye. It is not merely a temporary absence but a permanent separation, which makes the farewell all the more sorrowful.
2. Love and Loss
Burns presents love as something both beautiful and deeply wounding. The speaker’s affection for his beloved Nancy is intense and absolute:
But to see her was to love her;Love but her, and love forever.
This love, though powerful, leads only to suffering due to its unfulfilled nature. Burns explores the paradox of love: that it can enrich life even as it breaks the heart.
3. Fate and Resignation
There is a strong sense of fate and inevitability in the poem. The speaker does not blame his beloved or circumstances:
I’ll ne’er blame my partial fancy,Naething could resist my Nancy;
He acknowledges his powerlessness in the face of love and parting, suggesting a stoic acceptance of suffering. The poem walks a fine line between romantic idealism and emotional resignation.
Tone and Emotion
The tone is intimate, mourning, and tender. Burns’s language is simple but loaded with emotional intensity:
Deep in heart-wrung tears I’ll pledge thee,Warring sighs and groans I’ll wage thee.
This internal conflict — the “warring sighs” — mirrors the turmoil of loss, where love and grief exist simultaneously. The final stanza reaffirms both the speaker’s love and the pain of goodbye with aching repetition.
Poetic Devices
1. Repetition
The lines:
Ae fond kiss, and then we sever;Ae farewell, alas, forever!
are repeated in the final stanza, emphasizing the irrevocability of the farewell. Repetition reinforces the depth of emotion and gives the poem a lyrical circularity — it ends where it began.
2. Contrast
Burns uses contrast to highlight the emotional impact of parting:
Had we never lov’d sae kindly,Had we never lov’d sae blindly,Never met — or never parted,We had ne’er been broken hearted.
This couplet encapsulates the bittersweet nature of love: the joy of affection is inextricably tied to the pain of its loss. The speaker almost wishes they had never met — not because the love wasn’t worth it, but because the suffering is unbearable.
3. Musicality and Simplicity
The poem’s musical flow, aided by its regular meter and rhyme, makes it memorable and emotionally resonant. Burns’s use of Scots idioms such as “ilka” (every), “fareweel” (farewell), and “nae” (no) adds to the authentic voice and lyrical charm.
Biographical Context
Burns wrote this poem after parting from Agnes Maclehose, with whom he had exchanged romantic letters under the names “Sylvander” and “Clarinda.” Though their relationship remained platonic (both were married), it was emotionally intense. The poem was written when Clarinda was leaving for Jamaica, marking the final goodbye between them. This real-life context gives the poem added poignancy and sincerity.
“Ae Fond Kiss” remains one of Robert Burns’s most touching and universally relatable poems. It distills the complex experience of parting — love, loss, memory, and resignation — into just 24 lines, with elegance and emotional depth. Whether read as a personal farewell or a broader meditation on love’s transience, it offers solace through shared grief and the enduring beauty of poetic expression.
Burns, ever the master of emotional economy, leaves us with a final paradox: Though love may end in separation, the feelings it evokes live on — immortalized in song and memory.