Robert Burns, "Comin Thro' the Rye" Interpretation

As the class was reading “Comin Thro’ the Rye” by Robert Burns, it was a hard poem to understand. Although, it was hard, it seemed to have a lot of meaning behind each word. The word choice of the author was in Scottish, but when we translated them to English, it made a little more sense. In my perspective of this poem is a little different than the others. The author is writing a poem about a girl named Jenny. It takes place in the 1870’s. Jenny is weak and alone and the only tangible object she has with her is her own petticoat. She is walking on the fields alone, dragging her feet behind each step. Not wanting to take another step further because she is afraid of what will happen next. Jenny is wet and she does not know what to do. She has no one to go to for comfort or even companionship. She is wet because it has just rained; the rain signifies the sorrow she is going through. The rain could be another way of presenting her tears. She is shunned from the rest of the world for a crime she has committed. She has committed adultery. The explanation to why I think she has committed adultery is because the author says, “Gin a body meet a body… Gin a body kiss a body.” The word ‘gin’ stands for ‘when’ or ‘if’. When a body meets a body, they kiss. She could have had a husband, but when she met another form of a manly body she kissed it. Although, the author writes as if no one is on her side. It shows that he is. He questions why the world thinks she is looked down upon. This is because he questions why she should cry. He believes Jenny should be strong and not let the others put her down.