The Ronalds of the Bennals
In Tarbolton, ye ken, there are proper young men,And proper young lasses and a’, man;But ken ye the Ronalds that live in the Bennals,They carry the gree frae them a’, man.
Their father’s laird, and weel he can spare’t,Braid money to tocher them a’, man;To proper young men, he’ll clink in the handGowd guineas a hunder or twa, man.
There’s ane they ca’ Jean, I’ll warrant ye’ve seenAs bonie a lass or as braw, man;But for sense and guid taste she’ll vie wi’ the best,And a conduct that beautifies a’, man.
The charms o’ the min’, the langer they shine,The mair admiration they draw, man;While peaches and cherries, and roses and lilies,They fade and they wither awa, man,
If ye be for Miss Jean, tak this frae a frien’,A hint o’ a rival or twa, man;The Laird o’ Blackbyre wad gang through the fire,If that wad entice her awa, man.
The Laird o’ Braehead has been on his speed,For mair than a towmond or twa, man;The Laird o’ the Ford will straught on a board,If he canna get her at a’, man.
Then Anna comes in, the pride o’ her kin,The boast of our bachelors a’, man:Sae sonsy and sweet, sae fully complete,She steals our affections awa, man.
If I should detail the pick and the waleO’ lasses that live here awa, man,The fau’t wad be mine if they didna shineThe sweetest and best o’ them a’, man.
I lo’e her mysel, but darena weel tell,My poverty keeps me in awe, man;For making o’ rhymes, and working at times,Does little or naething at a’, man.
Yet I wadna choose to let her refuse,Nor hae’t in her power to say na, man:For though I be poor, unnoticed, obscure,My stomach’s as proud as them a’, man.
Though I canna ride in weel-booted pride,And flee o’er the hills like a craw, man,I can haud up my head wi’ the best o’ the breed,Though fluttering ever so braw, man.
My coat and my vest, they are Scotch o’ the best,O’pairs o’ guid breeks I hae twa, man;And stockings and pumps to put on my stumps,And ne’er a wrang steek in them a’, man.
My sarks they are few, but five o’ them new,Twal’ hundred, as white as the snaw, man,A ten-shillings hat, a Holland cravat;There are no mony poets sae braw, man.
I never had frien’s weel stockit in means,To leave me a hundred or twa, man;Nae weel-tocher’d aunts, to wait on their drants,And wish them in hell for it a’, man.
I never was cannie for hoarding o’ money,Or claughtin’t together at a’, man;I’ve little to spend, and naething to lend,But deevil a shilling I awe, man.
Words in this poem 16
- 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.]
- laird n.
- A lord; a landholder, esp. one who holds land directly of the crown. [See Lord.]
- 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.]
- tocher n.
- Dowry brought by a bride to her husband. Burns. [Gael. tochradh.]
- clink v. t.
- To cause to give out a slight, sharp, tinkling, sound, as by striking metallic or other sonorous bodies together. [OE. clinken; akin to G. klingen, D. klinken, SW. klinga, Dan. klinge; prob. of imitative origin. Cf. Clank, Clench, Click, v. i.]
- lass n.
- A youth woman; a girl; a sweetheart. [OE. lasse; prob. of Celtic origin; cf. W. llodes girl, fem. of llawd lad. (Lad a youth.]
- braw a.
- Well-dressed; handsome; smart; brave; -- used of persons or their clothing, etc.; as, a braw lad.
- admiration n.
- Wonder; astonishment. [F., fr. L. admiratio. See Admire.]
- straught v. t.
- To stretch; to make straight.
- canna n.
- A measure of length in Italy, varying from six to seven feet. [It.]
- anna n.
- An East Indian money of account, the sixteenth of a rupee, or about 2 [Hindi ana.]
- sonsy a.
- Lucky; fortunate; thriving; plump. [Scot. sonce, sons, prosperity, happiness, fr. Gael. & Ir. sonas.]
- vest n.
- An article of clothing covering the person; an outer garment; a vestment; a dress; a vesture; a robe. [L. vestis a garment, vesture; akin to Goth. wasti, and E. wear: cf. F. veste. See Wear to carry on the person, and cf. Divest, Invest, Travesty.]
- steek v. t.
- To pierce with a sharp instrument; hence, to stitch; to sew; also, to fix; to fasten. [Cf. Stick, v. t.]
- cravat n.
- A neckcloth; a piece of silk, fine muslin, or other cloth, worn by men about the neck. [F. cravate, fr. Cravate a Croat, an inhabitant of Croatia, one of a body of Austrian troops, from whom, in 1636, this article of dress was adopted in France.]
- hoarding n.
- A screen of boards inclosing a house and materials while builders are at work. [Eng.] [From OF. hourd, hourt, barrier, palisade, of German or Dutch origin; cf. D. horde hurdle, fence, G. horde, hürde; akin to E. hurdle. sq. root16. See Hurdle.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Ronalds of the Bennals 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 Ronalds of the Bennals, in Poems and Songs (1786–1796), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1279, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/burns-poems/the-ronalds-of-the-bennals.html, id L02925.
Form and metre
The Ronalds of the Bennals is 60 lines in 15 stanzas of 4 lines each. The metre is iambic pentameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 71%). 92% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 9.7 syllables. 2 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 7% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in iambic pentameter.
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 men · manA · bennals · manA
- 2 -A-A spare't · manA · hand · manA
- 3 -A-A seen · manA · best · manA
- 4 -A-A shine · manA · lilies · manA
- 5 -A-A frien · manA · fire · manA
- 6 -A-A speed · manA · board · manA
- 7 -A-A kin · manA · complete · manA
- 8 -A-A wale · manA · shine · manA
- 9 -A-A tell · manA · times · manA
- 10 -A-A refuse · manA · obscure · manA
- 11 -A-A pride · manA · breed · manA
- 12 -A-A best · manA · stumps · manA
- 13 -A-A new · manA · cravat · manA
- 14 -A-A means · manA · drants · manA
- 15 -A-A money · manA · lend · manA
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 pentameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| In Tarbolton, ye ken, there are proper young men, | 12 | ········/˘·· |
| And proper young lasses and a’, man; | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| But ken ye the Ronalds that live in the Bennals, | 12 | ····/˘······ |
| They carry the gree frae them a’, man. | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Their father’s laird, and weel he can spare’t, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Braid money to tocher them a’, man; | 9 | ·/˘·/˘··· |
| To proper young men, he’ll clink in the hand | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| Gowd guineas a hunder or twa, man. | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| There’s ane they ca’ Jean, I’ll warrant ye’ve seen | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| As bonie a lass or as braw, man; | 9 | ········· |
| But for sense and guid taste she’ll vie wi’ the best, | 11 | ··········· |
| And a conduct that beautifies a’, man. | 10 | ··˘/·/˘··· |
| The charms o’ the min’, the langer they shine, | 10 | ······/˘·· |
| The mair admiration they draw, man; | 9 | ···˘/˘··· |
| While peaches and cherries, and roses and lilies, | 12 | ·/˘·/˘·/˘·/˘ |
| They fade and they wither awa, man, | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| If ye be for Miss Jean, tak this frae a frien’, | 11 | ··········· |
| A hint o’ a rival or twa, man; | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| The Laird o’ Blackbyre wad gang through the fire, | 10 | ·········/ |
| If that wad entice her awa, man. | 9 | ···˘/···· |
| The Laird o’ Braehead has been on his speed, | 10 | ·········· |
| For mair than a towmond or twa, man; | 9 | ········· |
| The Laird o’ the Ford will straught on a board, | 10 | ·········· |
| If he canna get her at a’, man. | 9 | ··/˘····· |
| Then Anna comes in, the pride o’ her kin, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| The boast of our bachelors a’, man: | 8 | ···//˘·· |
| Sae sonsy and sweet, sae fully complete, | 10 | ·/˘···/˘˘/ |
| She steals our affections awa, man. | 9 | ··/˘/˘··· |
| If I should detail the pick and the wale | 10 | ···˘/····· |
| O’ lasses that live here awa, man, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| The fau’t wad be mine if they didna shine | 10 | ·········· |
| The sweetest and best o’ them a’, man. | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| I lo’e her mysel, but darena weel tell, | 11 | ··········· |
| My poverty keeps me in awe, man; | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| For making o’ rhymes, and working at times, | 10 | ·/˘···/˘·· |
| Does little or naething at a’, man. | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Yet I wadna choose to let her refuse, | 10 | ········˘/ |
| Nor hae’t in her power to say na, man: | 9 | ····/···· |
| For though I be poor, unnoticed, obscure, | 10 | ·····˘/˘˘/ |
| My stomach’s as proud as them a’, man. | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Though I canna ride in weel-booted pride, | 10 | ··/˘···/˘· |
| And flee o’er the hills like a craw, man, | 9 | ········· |
| I can haud up my head wi’ the best o’ the breed, | 12 | ············ |
| Though fluttering ever so braw, man. | 8 | ·/˘˘/··· |
| My coat and my vest, they are Scotch o’ the best, | 11 | ··········· |
| O’pairs o’ guid breeks I hae twa, man; | 9 | ········· |
| And stockings and pumps to put on my stumps, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| And ne’er a wrang steek in them a’, man. | 9 | ········· |
| My sarks they are few, but five o’ them new, | 10 | ·········· |
| Twal’ hundred, as white as the snaw, man, | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| A ten-shillings hat, a Holland cravat; | 10 | ··/˘··/˘˘/ |
| There are no mony poets sae braw, man. | 10 | ···/˘/˘··· |
| I never had frien’s weel stockit in means, | 9 | ·/······· |
| To leave me a hundred or twa, man; | 9 | ····/˘··· |
| Nae weel-tocher’d aunts, to wait on their drants, | 10 | ·········· |
| And wish them in hell for it a’, man. | 9 | ········· |
| I never was cannie for hoarding o’ money, | 11 | ·/····/˘·/˘ |
| Or claughtin’t together at a’, man; | 9 | ···˘/˘··· |
| I’ve little to spend, and naething to lend, | 10 | ·/˘······· |
| But deevil a shilling I awe, man. | 9 | ····/˘··· |
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