INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE

INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE



INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE

Introduction

The goal of this assignment is to compare and contrast two works that are the short story, “Wife Wooing” by John Updike and Robert Burns' poem, “A Red, Red Rose”. Love inspires such passion that people endure great tragedy and conquer in overwhelming circumstances. Love provokes emotions that can cause a person to accomplish the impossible (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 2000). For good reason, love has been put on the highest pedestal; however, love is not flawless or effortless. It may at times require work, and patience, and then even more patience! The short story, “Wife Wooing” by John Updike and Robert Burns' poem, “A Red, Red Rose” share similar overall messages and literary motifs about love, yet depict distinctly different versions of love in their themes and characterization. (Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 2000)

Literary Wotk 1: A Red, Red Rose

Burns worked for the final ten years of his life on projects to preserve traditional Scottish songs for the future. In all, Burns had a hand in preserving over 300 songs for posterity, the most famous being "Auld Lang Syne". He worked on this project for James Johnson's The Scots Musical Museum (1787-1803) and for George Thomson's five-volume A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs for the Voice. Burns had intended the work to be published as part of Thomson's selection. However, he wrote to a friend that Thomson and he disagreed on the merits of that type of song. "What to me appears to be the simple and the wild, to him, and I suspect to you likewise, will be looked on as the ludicrous and the absurd.

Instead, Burns gave the song to Scots singer Pietro Urbani who published it in his Scots Songs. In his book, Urbani claimed the words of The Red Red Rose were obligingly given to him by a celebrated Scots poet, who was so struck by them when sung by a country girl that he wrote them down and, not being pleased with the air, begged the author to set them to music in the style of a Scots tune, which he has done accordingly. In other correspondence, Burns referred to it as a "simple old Scots song which I had picked up in the country. 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. David Daiches in his work describes Burns as "the greatest songwriter Britain has produced" for his work in refurbishing and improving traditional Scots songs including "Red, Red Rose" which he described as a "combination of tenderness and swagger."

Urbani published the song to an original tune that he wrote. The song appeared in Johnson's Museum in 1797 to the tune of Neil Gow's "Major Graham" which was the tune that Burns wanted. In 1799, it appeared in Thomson's Scottish Airs set to William Marshall's Wishaw's Favourite with the lyric "And fare thee weel ...