Doesn't Burns' use of parallelism reinforce "My Heart's in the Highlands" visual images?

Question

Here is "My Heart's in the Highlands" by Robert Burns (https://www.bartleby.com/360/8/24.html). > My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here; My heart’s in > the Highlands a-chasing the deer;  Chasing the wild deer, and > following the roe.  My heart’s in the Highlands, wherever I go.  > Farewell to the Highlands, farewell to the North,  The birthplace > of valor, the country of worth;  Wherever I wander, wherever I rove,  > The hills of the Highlands forever I love.  Farewell to the > mountains high covered with snow;  Farewell to the straths and green > valleys below;  Farewell to the forests and wild-hanging woods;  > Farewell to the torrents and loud-pouring floods.  My heart ’s in the > Highlands, my heart is not here;  My heart’s in the Highlands > a-chasing the deer;  Chasing the wild deer, and following the roe.  > My heart’s in the Highlands wherever I go. Here is my question: does the author's use of parallelism reinforce the poem's strong visual images? The book says parallelism only adds to the poem's rhythm and elicits an emotional response from the reader with only such explanation about images: > In this poem, parallelism does not affect the strong visual images in > any way Why not? For example, in this excerpt, doesn't it help to produce stronger images by applying the same structure of lines? > Farewell to the mountains high covered with snow; Farewell to the > straths and green valleys below; Farewell to the forests and > wild-hanging woods; Farewell to the torrents and loud-pouring > floods.

Answer 1

This is tricky! Consider thinking about sound in this poem, and how the words create certain sounds at the end of each line. Think about the word choice and what may have motivated the writer to choose certain end words in the poem. If the poem's use of parallelism doesn't affect the strong visual images, then perhaps it is because the sense of "sight" wasn't the major focus. Remember, that when we speak about "imagery" in writing in general, it means an appeal to all senses, not just sight. This includes touch, taste, smell, sound. One major aspect that separates poetry from prose is the presence of precise musicality in some poems. Try to keep that in mind as you re-think about your assignment question. Hope this helps!