Handsome Nell
Once I lov’d a bonie lass,Ay, and I love her still;And whilst that virtue warms my breast,I’ll love my handsome Nell.
As bonie lasses I hae seen,And mony full as braw;But, for a modest gracefu’ mein,The like I never saw.
A bonie lass, I will confess,Is pleasant to the e’e;But, without some better qualities,She’s no a lass for me.
But Nelly’s looks are blythe and sweet,And what is best of a’,Her reputation is complete,And fair without a flaw.
She dresses aye sae clean and neat,Both decent and genteel;And then there’s something in her gaitGars ony dress look weel.
A gaudy dress and gentle airMay slightly touch the heart;But it’s innocence and modestyThat polishes the dart.
’Tis this in Nelly pleases me,’Tis this enchants my soul;For absolutely in my breastShe reigns without control.
Words in this poem
- lass n.
- A youth woman; a girl; a sweetheart. [OE. lasse; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. llodes girl, fem. of llawd lad. (Lad a youth.]
- braw a.
- Well-dressed; handsome; smart; brave; -- used of persons or their clothing, etc.; as, a braw lad.
- weel
- A kind of trap or snare for fish, made of twigs. Carew. [Prov. E. weel, weal, a wicker basket to catch eels; prob. akin to willow, and so called as made of willow twigs.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Handsome Nell is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems and Songs of Robert Burns, Project Gutenberg ebook #1279; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Burns, Handsome Nell, in Poems and Songs (1786–1796), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1279, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/burns-poems/handsome-nell.html, id L02916.
Form and metre
Handsome Nell is 28 lines in 7 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%). 97% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.1 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 14% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 2 ABAB seenA · brawB · meinA · sawB
- 3 -A-A confess · e'eA · qualities · meA
- 4 A-A- sweetA · a · completeA · flaw
- 5 -A-A neat · genteelA · gait · weelA
- 6 -A-A air · heartA · modesty · dartA
- 7 -A-A me · soulA · breast · controlA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Once I lov’d a bonie lass, | 7 | ······· |
| Ay, and I love her still; | 6 | ······ |
| And whilst that virtue warms my breast, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I’ll love my handsome Nell. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| As bonie lasses I hae seen, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| And mony full as braw; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But, for a modest gracefu’ mein, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| The like I never saw. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| A bonie lass, I will confess, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Is pleasant to the e’e; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But, without some better qualities, | 9 | ····/˘/˘˘ |
| She’s no a lass for me. | 6 | ······ |
| But Nelly’s looks are blythe and sweet, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And what is best of a’, | 6 | ······ |
| Her reputation is complete, | 8 | ··˘/˘·˘/ |
| And fair without a flaw. | 6 | ······ |
| She dresses aye sae clean and neat, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Both decent and genteel; | 6 | ·/˘·˘/ |
| And then there’s something in her gait | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Gars ony dress look weel. | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| A gaudy dress and gentle air | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| May slightly touch the heart; | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| But it’s innocence and modesty | 9 | ··/˘˘·/˘˘ |
| That polishes the dart. | 6 | ·/˘˘·· |
| ’Tis this in Nelly pleases me, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| ’Tis this enchants my soul; | 6 | ··˘/·· |
| For absolutely in my breast | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| She reigns without control. | 6 | ····˘/ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.