Recommending a Boy
I hold it, sir, my bounden dutyTo warn you how that Master Tootie,Alias, Laird M’Gaun,Was here to hire yon lad away’Bout whom ye spak the tither day,An’ wad hae don’t aff han’;
But lest he learn the callan tricks—An’ faith I muckle doubt him—Like scrapin out auld Crummie’s nicks,An’ tellin lies about them;As lieve then, I’d have thenYour clerkship he should sair,If sae be ye may beNot fitted otherwhere.
Altho’ I say’t, he’s gleg enough,An’ ’bout a house that’s rude an’ rough,The boy might learn to swear;But then, wi’ you, he’ll be sae taught,An’ get sic fair example straught,I hae na ony fear.Ye’ll catechise him, every quirk,An’ shore him weel wi’ hell;An’ gar him follow to the kirk—Aye when ye gang yoursel.If ye then maun be thenFrae hame this comin’ Friday,Then please, sir, to lea’e, sir,The orders wi’ your lady.
My word of honour I hae gi’en,In Paisley John’s, that night at e’en,To meet the warld’s worm;To try to get the twa to gree,An’ name the airles an’ the fee,In legal mode an’ form:I ken he weel a snick can draw,When simple bodies let him:An’ if a Devil be at a’,In faith he’s sure to get him.To phrase you and praise you,Ye ken your Laureat scorns:The pray’r still you share stillOf grateful Minstrel Burns.
Words in this poem 15
- bounden a.
- Bound; fastened by bonds. [Old. p. p. of bind.]
- laird n.
- A lord; a landholder, esp. one who holds land directly of the crown. [See Lord.]
- tither n.
- One who collects tithes.
- auld a.
- Old; as, Auld Reekie (old smoky), i. e., Edinburgh. [See Old.]
- clerkship n.
- State, quality, or business of a clerk.
- otherwhere adv.
- In or to some other place, or places; elsewhere.
- gleg a.
- Quick of perception; alert; sharp. Jamieson. [Icel. glöggr.]
- straught v. t.
- To stretch; to make straight.
- catechise v. t.
- To instruct by asking questions, receiving answeres, and offering explanations and corrections, -- esp. in regard to points of religious faith.
- quirk n.
- A sudden turn; a starting from the point or line; hence, an artful evasion or subterfuge; a shift; a quibble; as, the quirks of a pettifogger. [Cf W. chwiori to turn briskly, or E. queer.]
- 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.]
- kirk n.
- A church or the church, in the various senses of the word; esp., the Church of Scotland as distinguished from other reformed churches, or from the Roman Catholic Church. Jamieson. [Scot.; cf. Icel. kirkja, of Greek origin. See Church.]
- honour n.
- Esteem due or paid to worth; high estimation; respect; consideration; reverence; veneration; manifestation of respect or reverence. [OE. honor, honour, onour, onur, OF. honor, onor, honur, onur, honour, onour, F. honneur, fr. L. honor, honos.]
- gree n.
- Good will; favor; pleasure; satisfaction; -- used esp. in such phrases as: to take in gree; to accept in gree; that is, to take favorably. [F. gré. See Grateful, and cf. Agree.]
- snick n.
- A small cut or mark. [Prov. E. snick a notch; cf. Icel. snikka nick, cut.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Recommending a Boy 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, Recommending a Boy, in Poems and Songs (1786–1796), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1279, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/burns-poems/recommending-a-boy.html, id L03023.
Form and metre
Recommending a Boy is 42 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 89%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 4 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 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 AA-BB- dutyA · tootieA · m'gaun · awayB · dayB · han
- 2 A-A--B-B tricksA · him · nicksA · them · then · sairB · be · otherwhereB
- 3 AABCCBD-D----- enoughA · roughA · swearB · taughtC · straughtC · fearB · quirkD · hell · kirkD · yoursel · then · friday · sir · lady
- 4 AA-BB--C-C---- gi'enA · e'enA · worm · greeB · feeB · form · draw · himC · a · himC · you · scorns · still · burns
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 |
|---|---|---|
| I hold it, sir, my bounden duty | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| To warn you how that Master Tootie, | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| Alias, Laird M’Gaun, | 5 | /˘˘·· |
| Was here to hire yon lad away | 8 | ···/··˘/ |
| ’Bout whom ye spak the tither day, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An’ wad hae don’t aff han’; | 6 | ······ |
| But lest he learn the callan tricks— | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An’ faith I muckle doubt him— | 7 | ···/˘·· |
| Like scrapin out auld Crummie’s nicks, | 7 | ······· |
| An’ tellin lies about them; | 7 | ······· |
| As lieve then, I’d have then | 6 | ······ |
| Your clerkship he should sair, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| If sae be ye may be | 6 | ······ |
| Not fitted otherwhere. | 6 | ·/˘/˘˘ |
| Altho’ I say’t, he’s gleg enough, | 8 | ˘/····˘/ |
| An’ ’bout a house that’s rude an’ rough, | 8 | ········ |
| The boy might learn to swear; | 6 | ······ |
| But then, wi’ you, he’ll be sae taught, | 8 | ········ |
| An’ get sic fair example straught, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| I hae na ony fear. | 6 | ···/˘· |
| Ye’ll catechise him, every quirk, | 8 | ·/˘˘·/˘· |
| An’ shore him weel wi’ hell; | 6 | ······ |
| An’ gar him follow to the kirk— | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Aye when ye gang yoursel. | 6 | ······ |
| If ye then maun be then | 6 | ······ |
| Frae hame this comin’ Friday, | 7 | ···/˘/˘ |
| Then please, sir, to lea’e, sir, | 6 | ······ |
| The orders wi’ your lady. | 7 | ·/˘··/˘ |
| My word of honour I hae gi’en, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In Paisley John’s, that night at e’en, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| To meet the warld’s worm; | 5 | ····· |
| To try to get the twa to gree, | 8 | ········ |
| An’ name the airles an’ the fee, | 7 | ······· |
| In legal mode an’ form: | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| I ken he weel a snick can draw, | 8 | ········ |
| When simple bodies let him: | 7 | ·/˘/˘·· |
| An’ if a Devil be at a’, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| In faith he’s sure to get him. | 7 | ······· |
| To phrase you and praise you, | 6 | ······ |
| Ye ken your Laureat scorns: | 6 | ······ |
| The pray’r still you share still | 6 | ······ |
| Of grateful Minstrel Burns. | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
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