Analysis of I Hae Laid A Herring In Saut

James Tytler 1745 (Scotland) – 1804




I hae laid a herring in saut,
Lass, gin ye lo'e me, tell me now;
I hae brew'd a forpit o' maut,
And I canna come ilka day to woo:

I hae a calf that will soon be a cow,
Lass, gin ye lo'e me, tell me now;
I hae a stook, and I'll soon hae a mowe,
And I canna come ilka day to woo:

I hae a house upon yon moor,
Lass, gin ye lo'e me, tell me now;
Three sparrows may dance upon the floor,
And I canna come ilka day to woo:

I hae a but, and I hae a ben,
Lass, gin ye lo'e me, tell me now;
A penny to keep, and a penny to spen',
And I canna come ilka day to woo:

I hae a hen wi' a happitie leg,
Lass, gin ye lo'e me, tell me now;
That ilka day lays me an egg,
And I canna come ilka day to woo:

I hae a cheese upon my skelf,
Lass, gin ye lo'e me, tell me now;
And soon wi' mites 'twill rin itself,
And I canna come ilka day to woo.


Scheme aBaC bBcC xBxC xBbC dBdC eBeC
Poetic Form
Metre 11101001 111111111 1110111 011110111 1101111101 111111111 1101011101 011110111 11010111 111111111 110110101 011110111 110101101 111111111 01011001011 011110111 11011011 111111111 11011111 011110111 11010111 111111111 01111101 011110111
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 815
Words 197
Sentences 1
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4
Lines Amount 24
Letters per line (avg) 24
Words per line (avg) 8
Letters per stanza (avg) 97
Words per stanza (avg) 32
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Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on March 05, 2023

1:01 min read
3

James Tytler

James Tytler was a Scottish apothecary and the editor of the second edition of Encyclopædia Britannica. Tytler became the first person in Britain to fly by ascending in a hot air balloon. A group of historiographers wrote about him: A social outcast, Tytler did much hack work for low pay and rarely if ever emerged from poverty. But [...] he deserves to be remembered as a man of many talents - as a political and religious controversialist, scholar, journalist, poet, song writer, musician, balloonist, pharmacist, surgeon and printer. In addition [...] he was an outstanding encyclopedist whose editorship of the second edition earns him a notable place in the history of encyclopedias. more…

All James Tytler poems | James Tytler Books

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