Postscript
Let half-starv’d slaves in warmer skiesSee future wines, rich-clust’ring, rise;Their lot auld Scotland ne’re envies,But, blythe and frisky,She eyes her freeborn, martial boysTak aff their whisky.
What tho’ their Phoebus kinder warms,While fragrance blooms and beauty charms,When wretches range, in famish’d swarms,The scented groves;Or, hounded forth, dishonour armsIn hungry droves!
Their gun’s a burden on their shouther;They downa bide the stink o’ powther;Their bauldest thought’s a hank’ring switherTo stan’ or rin,Till skelp—a shot—they’re aff, a’throw’ther,To save their skin.
But bring a Scotchman frae his hill,Clap in his cheek a Highland gill,Say, such is royal George’s will,An’ there’s the foe!He has nae thought but how to killTwa at a blow.
Nae cauld, faint-hearted doubtings tease him;Death comes, wi’ fearless eye he sees him;Wi’bluidy hand a welcome gies him;An’ when he fa’s,His latest draught o’ breathin lea’es himIn faint huzzas.
Sages their solemn een may steek,An’ raise a philosophic reek,An’ physically causes seek,In clime an’ season;But tell me whisky’s name in GreekI’ll tell the reason.
Scotland, my auld, respected mither!Tho’ whiles ye moistify your leather,Till, whare ye sit on craps o’ heather,Ye tine your dam;Freedom an’ whisky gang thegither!Take aff your dram!
Words in this poem
- auld a.
- Old; as, Auld Reekie (old smoky), i. e., Edinburgh. [See Old.]
- freeborn a.
- Born free; not born in vasssalage; inheriting freedom.
- phoebus n.
- Apollo; the sun god.
- dishonour n.
- Lack of honor; disgrace; ignominy; shame; reproach. [OE. deshonour, dishonour, OF. deshonor, deshonur, F. déshonneur; pref. des- (L. dis-) + honor, honur, F. honneur, fr. L. honor. See Honor.]
- 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.]
- skelp n.
- A blow; a smart stroke. Brockett. [Cf. Prov. E. skelp to kick severely, to move rapidly; Gael. sgealp, n., a slap with the palm of the hand, v., to strike with the palm of the hand.]
- scotchman n.
- A native or inhabitant of Scotland; a Scot; a Scotsman.
- steek v. t.
- To pierce with a sharp instrument; hence, to stitch; to sew; also, to fix; to fasten. [Cf. Stick, v. t.]
- philosophic a.
- Of or pertaining to philosophy; versed in, or imbued with, the principles of philosophy; hence, characterizing a philosopher; rational; wise; temperate; calm; cool. [L. philosophicus: cf. F. philosophique.]
- reek n.
- A rick. B. Jonson.
- clime n.
- A climate; a tract or region of the earth. See Climate. [L. clima. See Climate.]
- whiles conj.
- During the time that; while. Chaucer. Fuller.
- craps n.
- A gambling game with dice. [Local, U.S.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Postscript 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, Postscript, in Poems and Songs (1786–1796), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1279, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/burns-poems/postscript.html, id L03007.
Form and metre
Postscript is 42 lines in 7 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AAABAB, complete in 4 of its 7 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 93%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 7 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 17% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic 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 AAABAB skiesA · riseA · enviesA · friskyB · boysA · whiskyB
- 2 ABACBC warmsA · charmsB · swarmsA · grovesC · armsB · drovesC
- 3 AAA-A- shoutherA · powtherA · switherA · rin · a'throw'therA · skin
- 4 AAABAB hillA · gillA · willA · foeB · killA · blowB
- 5 AAABAB himA · himA · himA · fa'sB · himA · huzzasB
- 6 AAABAB steekA · reekA · seekA · seasonB · greekA · reasonB
- 7 ABBCAC mitherA · leatherB · heatherB · damC · thegitherA · dramC
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 iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Let half-starv’d slaves in warmer skies | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| See future wines, rich-clust’ring, rise; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Their lot auld Scotland ne’re envies, | 8 | ···/˘·/˘ |
| But, blythe and frisky, | 5 | ···/˘ |
| She eyes her freeborn, martial boys | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Tak aff their whisky. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| What tho’ their Phoebus kinder warms, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| While fragrance blooms and beauty charms, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| When wretches range, in famish’d swarms, | 8 | ········ |
| The scented groves; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Or, hounded forth, dishonour arms | 8 | ·/˘·˘/˘· |
| In hungry droves! | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Their gun’s a burden on their shouther; | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| They downa bide the stink o’ powther; | 9 | ········· |
| Their bauldest thought’s a hank’ring swither | 9 | ········· |
| To stan’ or rin, | 4 | ···· |
| Till skelp—a shot—they’re aff, a’throw’ther, | 9 | ········· |
| To save their skin. | 4 | ···· |
| But bring a Scotchman frae his hill, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Clap in his cheek a Highland gill, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Say, such is royal George’s will, | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| An’ there’s the foe! | 4 | ···· |
| He has nae thought but how to kill | 8 | ········ |
| Twa at a blow. | 4 | ···· |
| Nae cauld, faint-hearted doubtings tease him; | 9 | ···/˘/˘·· |
| Death comes, wi’ fearless eye he sees him; | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Wi’bluidy hand a welcome gies him; | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| An’ when he fa’s, | 4 | ···· |
| His latest draught o’ breathin lea’es him | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| In faint huzzas. | 4 | ···· |
| Sages their solemn een may steek, | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| An’ raise a philosophic reek, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| An’ physically causes seek, | 8 | ·/˘˘˘/˘· |
| In clime an’ season; | 5 | ···/˘ |
| But tell me whisky’s name in Greek | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| I’ll tell the reason. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Scotland, my auld, respected mither! | 9 | /˘··˘/˘·· |
| Tho’ whiles ye moistify your leather, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Till, whare ye sit on craps o’ heather, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Ye tine your dam; | 4 | ···· |
| Freedom an’ whisky gang thegither! | 9 | /˘·/˘···· |
| Take aff your dram! | 4 | ···· |
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