Duncan Davison by Robert Burns
Meg goes across the moors to spin, followed by Duncan Davison, who seeks her favour. The journey is difficult, and Meg fiercely resists him, threatening him with her distaff and showing her temper. When they rest beside a clear burn in a green glen, she keeps her spinning-wheel between them. Duncan swears that Meg will be his bride the next morning, and Meg responds by throwing all her spinning equipment over the burn. Duncan imagines that they will build a little house and live joyfully like king and queen, with Meg setting aside the wheel in the evening. He pictures a life in which a man may drink, fight, and kiss a bonie lass yet still be welcomed home.
By Robert Burns · First published 1790 · Genre: Scots Song, Lyric Poetry, Pastoral Poetry · 272 words
First lines
There was a lass, they ca'd her Meg, / And she held o'er the moors to spin; / There was a lad that follow'd her, / They ca'd him Duncan Davison. / The moor was dreigh, and Meg was skeigh, / Her favour Duncan could na win; / For wi' the rock she wad him knock, / And aye she shook the temper-pin.
As o'er the moor they lightly foor, / A burn was clear, a glen was green, / Upon the banks they eas'd their shanks, / And aye she set the wheel between: / But Duncan swoor a haly aith, / That Meg should be a bride the morn; / Then Meg took up her spinning-graith, / And flang them a' out o'er the burn.
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Genres
- Scots Song — The work is a short, stanzaic song in Scots dialect, using musical repetition, colloquial phrasing, and a refrain-like cadence characteristic of traditional Scottish song.
- Lyric Poetry — Its compact form, rhythmic language, emotional immediacy, and emphasis on courtship and anticipated domestic happiness make it fundamentally lyric poetry.
- Pastoral Poetry — The action occurs across moorland, beside a burn, and in a green glen, framing rustic courtship within an idealized rural landscape.
- Courtship Poetry — The central plot concerns Duncan Davison's pursuit of Meg, her resistance, and his promise that she will become his bride.
Tags
Scottish vernacular poetry · Scots language · pastoral courtship · romantic pursuit · resistant heroine · rural Scotland · moorland journey · green glen · spinning and domestic labor · spinning wheel · distaff · village romance
What this Textopian page supports
Duncan Davison is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1790 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Poem
- Author: Robert Burns
- Date: 1790 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Scots Song, Lyric Poetry, Pastoral Poetry, Courtship Poetry, Comic Poetry
- Length: 272 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Duncan Davison by Robert Burns
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
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