Lines to John M’Murdo, Esq. of Drumlanrig
O could I give thee India’s wealth,As I this trifle send;Because thy joy in both would beTo share them with a friend.
But golden sands did never graceThe Heliconian stream;Then take what gold could never buy—An honest bard’s esteem.
Words in this poem
- wealth n.
- Weal; welfare; prosperity; good. [OE. welthe, from wele; cf. D. weelde luxury. See Weal prosperity.]
- heliconian a.
- Of or pertaining to Helicon. [L. Heliconius.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Lines to John M’Murdo, Esq. of Drumlanrig 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, Lines to John M’Murdo, Esq. of Drumlanrig, in Poems and Songs (1786–1796), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1279, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/burns-poems/lines-to-john-m-murdo-esq-of-drumlanrig.html, id L03159.
Form and metre
Lines to John M’Murdo, Esq. of Drumlanrig is 8 lines in 2 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 25% 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.
- 1 -A-A wealth · sendA · be · friendA
- 2 -A-A grace · streamA · buy · esteemA
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O could I give thee India’s wealth, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| As I this trifle send; | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Because thy joy in both would be | 8 | ········ |
| To share them with a friend. | 6 | ······ |
| But golden sands did never grace | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| The Heliconian stream; | 6 | ······ |
| Then take what gold could never buy— | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An honest bard’s esteem. | 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.