On Scaring Some Water-Fowl in Loch-Turit
Why, ye tenants of the lake,For me your wat’ry haunt forsake?Tell me, fellow-creatures, whyAt my presence thus you fly?Why disturb your social joys,Parent, filial, kindred ties?—Common friend to you and me,yature’s gifts to all are free:Peaceful keep your dimpling wave,Busy feed, or wanton lave;Or, beneath the sheltering rock,Bide the surging billow’s shock.
Conscious, blushing for our race,Soon, too soon, your fears I trace,Man, your proud, usurping foe,Would be lord of all below:Plumes himself in freedom’s pride,Tyrant stern to all beside.
The eagle, from the cliffy brow,Marking you his prey below,In his breast no pity dwells,Strong necessity compels:But Man, to whom alone is giv’nA ray direct from pitying Heav’n,Glories in his heart humane—And creatures for his pleasure slain!
In these savage, liquid plains,Only known to wand’ring swains,Where the mossy riv’let strays,Far from human haunts and ways;All on Nature you depend,And life’s poor season peaceful spend.
Or, if man’s superior mightDare invade your native right,On the lofty ether borne,Man with all his pow’rs you scorn;Swiftly seek, on clanging wings,Other lakes and other springs;And the foe you cannot brave,Scorn at least to be his slave.
Words in this poem
- filial a.
- Of or pertaining to a son or daughter; becoming to a child in relation to his parents; as, filial obedience. [L. filialis, fr. filius son, filia daughter; akin to e. female, feminine. Cf. Fitz.]
- lave v. t.
- To lade, dip, or pour out. [OE. laven. See Lavish.]
- bide v. i.
- To dwell; to inhabit; to abide; to stay. [OE. biden, AS. bidan; akin to OHG. bitan, Goth. beidan, Icel. bi; perh. orig., to wait with trust, and akin to bid. See Bid, v. t., and cf. Abide.]
- billow n.
- A great wave or surge of the sea or other water, caused usually by violent wind. [Cf. Icel. bylgja billow, Dan. bölge, Sw. bölja; akin to MHG. bulge billow, bag, and to E. bulge. See Bulge.]
- cliffy a.
- Having cliffs; broken; craggy.
- pitying a.
- Expressing pity; as, a pitying eye, glance, or word.
- humane a.
- Pertaining to man; human. Jer. Taylor. [L. humanus: cf. F. humain. See Human.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
On Scaring Some Water-Fowl in Loch-Turit 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, On Scaring Some Water-Fowl in Loch-Turit, in Poems and Songs (1786–1796), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1279, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/burns-poems/on-scaring-some-water-fowl-in-loch-turit.html, id L03103.
Form and metre
On Scaring Some Water-Fowl in Loch-Turit is 40 lines in 5 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 85% of the lines. The metre is trochaic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 96% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.3 syllables. 8% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic tetrameter.
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 AABB--CCDDEE lakeA · forsakeA · whyB · flyB · joys · ties · meC · freeC · waveD · laveD · rockE · shockE
- 2 AABBCC raceA · traceA · foeB · belowB · prideC · besideC
- 3 --AA--BB brow · below · dwellsA · compelsA · giv'n · heav'n · humaneB · slainB
- 4 AABBCC plainsA · swainsA · straysB · waysB · dependC · spendC
- 5 AABBCCDD mightA · rightA · borneB · scornB · wingsC · springsC · braveD · slaveD
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 trochaic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Why, ye tenants of the lake, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| For me your wat’ry haunt forsake? | 8 | ···/˘·˘/ |
| Tell me, fellow-creatures, why | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| At my presence thus you fly? | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Why disturb your social joys, | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| Parent, filial, kindred ties?— | 8 | /˘/˘˘/˘· |
| Common friend to you and me, | 7 | /˘····· |
| yature’s gifts to all are free: | 7 | ······· |
| Peaceful keep your dimpling wave, | 8 | /˘··/˘˘· |
| Busy feed, or wanton lave; | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Or, beneath the sheltering rock, | 8 | ····/˘˘· |
| Bide the surging billow’s shock. | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Conscious, blushing for our race, | 8 | /˘/˘·/˘· |
| Soon, too soon, your fears I trace, | 7 | ······· |
| Man, your proud, usurping foe, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Would be lord of all below: | 7 | ······· |
| Plumes himself in freedom’s pride, | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| Tyrant stern to all beside. | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| The eagle, from the cliffy brow, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Marking you his prey below, | 7 | /˘····· |
| In his breast no pity dwells, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Strong necessity compels: | 7 | ·˘/˘˘˘/ |
| But Man, to whom alone is giv’n | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| A ray direct from pitying Heav’n, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| Glories in his heart humane— | 7 | /˘···˘/ |
| And creatures for his pleasure slain! | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| In these savage, liquid plains, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Only known to wand’ring swains, | 7 | /˘····· |
| Where the mossy riv’let strays, | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| Far from human haunts and ways; | 7 | ··/˘··· |
| All on Nature you depend, | 7 | ··/˘·˘/ |
| And life’s poor season peaceful spend. | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Or, if man’s superior might | 8 | ···˘/˘˘· |
| Dare invade your native right, | 7 | ·˘/·/˘· |
| On the lofty ether borne, | 7 | ··/˘/˘· |
| Man with all his pow’rs you scorn; | 7 | ······· |
| Swiftly seek, on clanging wings, | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| Other lakes and other springs; | 7 | /˘··/˘· |
| And the foe you cannot brave, | 7 | ····/˘· |
| Scorn at least to be his slave. | 7 | ······· |
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.