The Banks of Nith
The Thames flows proudly to the sea,Where royal cities stately stand;But sweeter flows the Nith to me,Where Comyns ance had high command.When shall I see that honour’d land,That winding stream I love so dear!Must wayward Fortune’s adverse handFor ever, ever keep me here!
How lovely, Nith, thy fruitful vales,Where bounding hawthorns gaily bloom;And sweetly spread thy sloping dales,Where lambkins wanton through the broom.Tho’ wandering now must be my doom,Far from thy bonie banks and braes,May there my latest hours consume,Amang the friends of early days!
Words in this poem
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- 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.]
- wayward a.
- Taking one's own way; disobedient; froward; perverse; willful. [OE. weiward, for aweiward, i. e., turned away. See Away, and -ward.]
- gaily adv.
- Merrily; showily. See gaily. [From Gay.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Banks of Nith 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, The Banks of Nith, in Poems and Songs (1786–1796), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1279, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/burns-poems/the-banks-of-nith.html, id L03173.
Form and metre
The Banks of Nith is 16 lines in 2 stanzas of 8 lines each. Every stanza rhymes ABABBCBC. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 94%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.0 syllables. 6% 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 ABABBCBC seaA · standB · meA · commandB · landB · dearC · handB · hereC
- 2 ABABBCBC valesA · bloomB · dalesA · broomB · doomB · braesC · consumeB · daysC
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 |
|---|---|---|
| The Thames flows proudly to the sea, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Where royal cities stately stand; | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| But sweeter flows the Nith to me, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Where Comyns ance had high command. | 8 | ······˘/ |
| When shall I see that honour’d land, | 8 | ········ |
| That winding stream I love so dear! | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Must wayward Fortune’s adverse hand | 8 | ·/˘/˘/·· |
| For ever, ever keep me here! | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| How lovely, Nith, thy fruitful vales, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Where bounding hawthorns gaily bloom; | 8 | ·/˘/·/˘· |
| And sweetly spread thy sloping dales, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Where lambkins wanton through the broom. | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Tho’ wandering now must be my doom, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Far from thy bonie banks and braes, | 8 | ········ |
| May there my latest hours consume, | 8 | ···/˘/˘/ |
| Amang the friends of early days! | 8 | ·····/˘· |
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.