Fragment - Why, Why Tell Thy Lover
written in 1795
Why, why tell thy lover, Bliss he never must enjoy; Why, why undecieve him, And give all his hopes the lie? O why, while fancy, raptur'd slumbers, Chloris, Chloris all the theme, Why, why would'st thou cruel Wake thy lover from his dream?
Fragment - Why, Why Tell Thy Lover - meaning Summary
Love's Cruel Awakening
Burns' short fragment addresses a woman (Chloris) and questions why she would strip her lover of his illusions. The speaker objects to exposing the beloved to harsh truth that destroys pleasure and hope, preferring the rapture of imagined love to the pain of waking. The poem contrasts dreamlike fancy with cruel reality, portraying self-deception as a sustaining, even compassionate, state for the lover. It registers sympathy for the lover’s emotional vulnerability and criticizes any action that purposefully extinguishes tender illusions.
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