| A young swain dies for love. The maid dies of guilt. He symbolically appears as a rose, she as a briar, and they intertwine. The theme of suffering, even dying, for love dates back at least to "Tristan and Isolde", which pre- dates the ballad by several centuries, and is strewn throughout Elizabethan poetry. The accusation that the beloved is "cruel" due to her coldness is also ubiquitous. The ballad does not do a very good job of setting up the story (did she have a prior romance with the fellow, or is he simply a stalker?), and unless she did something overtly cruel to him, it is absurd to have her die. The diction is by no means dignified enough for the tragedy unfolding, nor is there much imagery, aside from commonplaces like "red, red rose". If she did love him, then there is no reason for her to die, and if she did not, why are they united in love eternally: merely because she felt guilty? Well, that is enough.......... |
