Analysis of Hark! the Mavis

Robert Burns 1759 (Alloway) – 1796 (Dumfries)



CA' the yowes to the knowes,
   Ca' them where the heather grows,
   Ca' them where the burnie rows,
   My bonnie dearie.

Hark! the mavis' evening sang
Sounding Clouden's woods amang,
Then a-faulding let us gang,
   My bonnie dearie.

We'll gae down by Clouden side,
Through the hazels spreading wide,
O'er the waves that sweetly glide
   To the moon sae clearly.

Yonder Clouden's silent towers,
Where at moonshine midnight hours
O'er the dewy bending flowers
   Fairies dance sae cheery.

Ghaist nor bogle shalt thou fear;
Thou'rt to Love and Heaven sae dear,
Nocht of ill may come thee near,
   My bonnie dearie.

Fair and lovely as thou art,
Thou hast stown my very heart;
I can die--but canna part,
   My bonnie dearie.

While waters wimple to the sea;
While day blinks in the lift sae hie;
Till clay-cauld death shall blin' my e'e,
   Ye shall be my dearie.

Ca' the yowes to the knowes...


Scheme AaaB cccB ddde aaab bbbB fffB axeb A
Poetic Form
Metre 101101 1110101 111011 1101 1010101 10111 1010111 1101 111111 101101 10011101 101110 1011010 111110 100101010 101110 1110111 11101011 1111111 1101 1010111 1111101 111111 1101 1101101 11100111 111111111 11111 101101
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 900
Words 155
Sentences 10
Stanzas 8
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 1
Lines Amount 29
Letters per line (avg) 23
Words per line (avg) 5
Letters per stanza (avg) 83
Words per stanza (avg) 19
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 10, 2023

48 sec read
87

Robert Burns

Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and lyricist. more…

All Robert Burns poems | Robert Burns Books

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