Robert Burns
I see amid the fields of AyrA ploughman, who, in foul and fair,Sings at his taskSo clear, we know not if it isThe laverock's song we hear, or his,Nor care to ask.
For him the ploughing of those fieldsA more ethereal harvest yieldsThan sheaves of grain;Songs flush with Purple bloom the rye,The plover's call, the curlew's cry,Sing in his brain.
Touched by his hand, the wayside weedBecomes a flower; the lowliest reedBeside the streamIs clothed with beauty; gorse and grassAnd heather, where his footsteps pass,The brighter seem.
He sings of love, whose flame illumesThe darkness of lone cottage rooms;He feels the force,The treacherous undertow and stressOf wayward passions, and no lessThe keen remorse.
At moments, wrestling with his fate,His voice is harsh, but not with hate;The brushwood, hungAbove the tavern door, lets fallIts bitter leaf, its drop of gallUpon his tongue.
But still the music of his songRises o'er all elate and strong;Its master-chordsAre Manhood, Freedom, Brotherhood,Its discords but an interludeBetween the words.
And then to die so young and leaveUnfinished what he might achieve!Yet better sureIs this, than wandering up and downAn old man in a country town,Infirm and poor.
For now he haunts his native landAs an immortal youth; his handGuides every plough;He sits beside each ingle-nook,His voice is in each rushing brook,Each rustling bough.
His presence haunts this room to-night,A form of mingled mist and lightFrom that far coast.Welcome beneath this roof of mine!Welcome! this vacant chair is thine,Dear guest and ghost!
Words in this poem
- amid prep.
- In the midst or middle of; surrounded or encompassed by; among. [OE. amidde, amiddes, on midden, AS. on middan, in the middle, fr. midde the middle. The s is an adverbial ending, originally marking the genitive; the t is a la]
- ploughman n.
- One who plows, or who holds and guides a plow; hence, a husbandman. Chaucer.
- wayside n.
- The side of the way; the edge or border of a road or path.
- gorse n.
- Furze. See Furze. [OE. & AS. gorst; perh. akin to E. grow, grass.]
- lone n.
- A lane. See Loanin.
- undertow n.
- The current that sets seaward near the bottom when waves are breaking upon the shore.
- wayward a.
- Taking one's own way; disobedient; froward; perverse; willful. [OE. weiward, for aweiward, i. e., turned away. See Away, and -ward.]
- elate a.
- Lifted up; raised; elevated. [L. elatus elevated, fig., elated, proud (the figure, perh., being borrowed from a prancing horse); e out + latus (used as p. p. of ferre to bear), for tlatus, a]
- nook n.
- A narrow place formed by an angle in bodies or between bodies; a corner; a recess; a secluded retreat. [OE. nok; cf. Gael. & Ir. niuc.]
- ghost n.
- The spirit; the soul of man. [OE. gast, gost, soul, spirit, AS. gast breath, spirit, soul; akin to OS. g spirit, soul, D. geest, G. geist, and prob. to E. gaze, ghastly.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Robert Burns is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Complete Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Project Gutenberg ebook #1365; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Robert Burns, in The Complete Poetical Works (1839–1882), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1365, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/longfellow-poems/robert-burns.html, id L17802.
Form and metre
Robert Burns is 54 lines in 9 stanzas of 6 lines each. The rhyme scheme is AABCCB, complete in 7 of its 9 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 92%). 93% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.8 syllables. 44% 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 --ABBA ayr · fair · taskA · isB · hisB · askA
- 2 AABCCB fieldsA · yieldsA · grainB · ryeC · cryC · brainB
- 3 AABCCB weedA · reedA · streamB · grassC · passC · seemB
- 4 AABCCB illumesA · roomsA · forceB · stressC · lessC · remorseB
- 5 AABCCB fateA · hateA · hungB · fallC · gallC · tongueB
- 6 AA---- songA · strongA · chords · brotherhood · interlude · words
- 7 AABCCB leaveA · achieveA · sureB · downC · townC · poorB
- 8 AABCCB landA · handA · ploughB · nookC · brookC · boughB
- 9 AABCCB nightA · lightA · coastB · mineC · thineC · ghostB
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 see amid the fields of Ayr | 8 | ··˘/···· |
| A ploughman, who, in foul and fair, | 8 | ········ |
| Sings at his task | 4 | ···· |
| So clear, we know not if it is | 8 | ········ |
| The laverock's song we hear, or his, | 9 | ········· |
| Nor care to ask. | 4 | ···· |
| For him the ploughing of those fields | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| A more ethereal harvest yields | 9 | ··˘/˘˘/˘· |
| Than sheaves of grain; | 4 | ···· |
| Songs flush with Purple bloom the rye, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| The plover's call, the curlew's cry, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Sing in his brain. | 4 | ···· |
| Touched by his hand, the wayside weed | 9 | ·˘····/·· |
| Becomes a flower; the lowliest reed | 9 | ˘/·/˘···· |
| Beside the stream | 4 | ˘/·· |
| Is clothed with beauty; gorse and grass | 9 | ··˘·/˘··· |
| And heather, where his footsteps pass, | 8 | ·/˘··/·· |
| The brighter seem. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| He sings of love, whose flame illumes | 8 | ········ |
| The darkness of lone cottage rooms; | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| He feels the force, | 4 | ···· |
| The treacherous undertow and stress | 9 | ·/˘˘/˘··· |
| Of wayward passions, and no less | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| The keen remorse. | 4 | ··˘/ |
| At moments, wrestling with his fate, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| His voice is harsh, but not with hate; | 8 | ········ |
| The brushwood, hung | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Above the tavern door, lets fall | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Its bitter leaf, its drop of gall | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Upon his tongue. | 4 | ···· |
| But still the music of his song | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Rises o'er all elate and strong; | 8 | /˘··˘/·· |
| Its master-chords | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Are Manhood, Freedom, Brotherhood, | 8 | ·/·/˘/˘· |
| Its discords but an interlude | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Between the words. | 4 | ···· |
| And then to die so young and leave | 8 | ········ |
| Unfinished what he might achieve! | 9 | ˘/˘˘···˘/ |
| Yet better sure | 4 | ·/˘· |
| Is this, than wandering up and down | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| An old man in a country town, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Infirm and poor. | 4 | ˘/·· |
| For now he haunts his native land | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| As an immortal youth; his hand | 8 | ··˘/˘··· |
| Guides every plough; | 5 | ·/˘˘· |
| He sits beside each ingle-nook, | 8 | ··˘/·/˘· |
| His voice is in each rushing brook, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Each rustling bough. | 4 | ·/˘· |
| His presence haunts this room to-night, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| A form of mingled mist and light | 9 | ···/˘˘··· |
| From that far coast. | 4 | ···· |
| Welcome beneath this roof of mine! | 8 | /˘······ |
| Welcome! this vacant chair is thine, | 8 | /˘·/˘··· |
| Dear guest and ghost! | 4 | ···· |
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.