Analysis of On Ettrick Forest's Mountains Dun {Life In The Forest}
Sir Walter Scott 1771 (College Wynd, Edinburgh) – 1832 (Abbotsford, Roxburghshire)
On Ettrick Forest's mountains dun
'Tis blithe to hear the sportsman's gun,
And seek the heath-frequenting brood
Far through the noonday solitude;
By many a cairn and trenched mound,
Where chiefs of yore sleep lone and sound,
And springs, where grey-hair'd shepherds tell
That still the fairies love to dwell.
Along the silver streams of Tweed
'Tis blithe the mimic fly to lead,
When to the hook the salmon springs,
And the line whistles through the rings;
The boiling eddy see him try,
Then dashing from the current high,
Till watchful eye and cautious hand
Have led his wasted strength to land.
'Tis blithe along the midnight tide
With stalwart arm the boat to guide;
On high the dazzling blaze to rear,
And heedful plunge the barbed spear:
Rock, wood, and scaur, emerging bright,
Fling on the stream their ruddy light,
And from the bank our band appears
Like Genii, arm'd with fiery spears.
'Tis blithe at eve to tell the tale,
How we succeed, and how we fail,
Whether at Alwyn's lordly meal,
Or lowlier board of Ashestiel;
While the gay tapers cheerly shine,
Bickers the fire, and fhws the wine—
Days free from thought, and nights from care,
My blessing on the Forest fair!
Scheme | AABBCCDD XXEEFFGG HHIIJJKK LLXDMMNN |
---|---|
Poetic Form | |
Metre | 1110101 1111011 01011001 110110 11001011 11111101 01111101 11010111 01010111 11010111 11010101 00110101 01010111 11010101 11010101 11110111 1101011 11010111 110100111 011011 11010101 11011101 010110101 11111001 11111101 11010111 101111 11111 1011011 100100101 11110111 11010101 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,160 |
Words | 208 |
Sentences | 5 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
Lines Amount | 32 |
Letters per line (avg) | 29 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 232 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 52 |
Font size:
Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:03 min read
- 64 Views
Citation
Use the citation below to add this poem analysis to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"On Ettrick Forest's Mountains Dun {Life In The Forest}" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/35530/on-ettrick-forest%27s-mountains-dun-%7Blife-in-the-forest%7D>.
Discuss this Sir Walter Scott poem analysis with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In