the last rose of summer

[Nefertiti]

"No rose bud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh."

1. What do the verses above mean? Please explain them one by one.


"I'll not leave thee, thou lone one,
To pine on the stem;"

2. What does 'to pine on the stem' mean?

"Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go sleep thou with them;"

3. Who are the lovely?

"Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead."

4. What is 'mates of the garden'?

"So soon may I follow
When friendships decay,"

5. What do the verses above mean? What does 'may' mean?

Thanks


the Last Rose of Summer

 

[Anglika]

Tis the last rose of summer,
Left blooming all alone,
All her lovely companions
Are faded and gone.
No flower of her kindred,
No rose bud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh. All the other roses have died and there are no young buds coming to be her reflection as she too begins to die.

I'll not leave thee, thou lone one,
To pine on the stem;
Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go sleep thou with them; Since the other roses are dead, you will now join them because I shall pick you in order to scatter your petals with theirs.
'Thus kindly I scatter
Thy leaves o'er the bed
Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead. The other flowers in the garden that have died at the end of the summer.

So soon may I follow
When friendships decay, So too I will die as I and my friends will grow old and die.
And from love's shining circle
The gems drop away!
When true hearts lie withered
And fond ones are flown
Oh! who would inhabit
This bleak world alone

 

[Snowcake]

"No rose bud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh."

No rose bud is near,
to reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh.

blush=reddening of the face, refers to the colour of the rose.
Sigh = express grief or yearning, sometimes with an audible exhalation.

1. What do the verses above mean? Please explain them one by one.

"I'll not leave thee, thou lone one,
To pine on the stem;"

thou=you (especially used in literary, liturgical or devotional context.
thee=you (objective case of thou)
to pine=to yearn, to have a strong desire

2. What does 'to pine on the stem' mean?

to pine=to yearn, to have a strong desire
stem= a part of a plant

"Since the lovely are sleeping,
Go sleep thou with them;"

3. Who are the lovely?

The lovely companions, the other roses.


"Where thy mates of the garden
Lie scentless and dead."


4. What is 'mates of the garden'?

Mate is usually used for close friends. 'He's my mate.' (colloquial British English) Thus, again the other roses.

"So soon may I follow
When friendships decay,"

5. What do the verses above mean? What does 'may' mean?

In the given context, I'd say may means the fervent wish to follow.

Thanks

 

[Nefertiti]

What does 'give sigh for sigh' mean? Is it a common expression in English?

Thanks a lot.

 

[Snowcake]

try:

to give and to take with every single breath they take.

Read it in the context of companionship.

 

[Nefertiti]

Hi SC.

I'm still not getting it.

'or give sigh for sigh'

1. I wonder who is the subject? Who gives sigh for sigh?


2. What does 'for sigh' mean? Please elaborate more.

Thanks

 

[Snowcake]

No rose bud is nigh,
To reflect back her blushes,
Or give sigh for sigh

'or give sigh for sigh'

1. I wonder who is the subject? Who gives sigh for sigh?

The roses, which once surrounded it (the rose), but are now dead /faded usually gave sigh for sigh.

2. What does 'for sigh' mean? Please elaborate more.

'for sigh' isn't a phrase. If you think of sigh as an audible exhalation, a specific kind of breathing, showing grief and mourning, you can imagine that the roses don't sigh only one time. They sigh and sigh and sigh. This is meant by 'sigh for sigh'. Perhaps the expression 'step by step' can help you to understand 'for' in the given line. We moved forwards step by step. The roses give sigh for sigh.

 

[Nefertiti]

A great song to appreciate.

Thanks a lot, SC. I got it.