O my luve's like a red, red rose,
That's newly sprung in June:
O my luve's like the melodie
That's sweetly played in tune
As fair art thou, my bonie lass,
So deep in luve am I:
And I will love thee still, my dear.
Till a' the seas gang dry.
Till a' the seas gang dry, my dear,
And the rocks melt wi' the sun:
OI will love thee still, my dear.
While the sands o' life shall run.
And fare thee weel, my only live!
And fare thee weel a while!
And I will come again, my luve.
Tho' it were ten thousand mile!
What does "the sands o' life" signify in the above extract?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → The passage of time
The phrase comes from the hourglass, in which sand runs from the upper glass to the lower one and so measures time. "While the sands o' life shall run" means as long as the time of his life keeps passing, that is, as long as he lives. The sands of life stand for the passage of time.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: People living in deserts — Incorrect. Not mentioned: no desert or desert people appear in the poem; the sand is a metaphor for time.
Option 3: Creatures inhabiting the desert — Incorrect. Not mentioned: again, the sand is not real sand, and the poem names no creatures.
Option 4: An hourglass full of sand — Incorrect. Misread: the image is taken from an hourglass, but the phrase means the time that the hourglass measures, not the object itself.