Elegy on Willie Nicol's Mare by Robert Burns
“Elegy on Willie Nicol's Mare” laments Peg Nicholson, a once sturdy bay mare able to travel through hardship and even carry a priest. She is now dead, floating down the Nith past the mouth of Cairn, stripped even of her skin and becoming food for Solway fish. The poem attributes her suffering to the priest who rode her hard, leaving her oppressed and bruised like other cattle ridden by priests.
By Robert Burns · First published 1808 · Genre: Elegy, Satirical Poetry, Mock Elegy · 168 words
First lines
Peg Nicholson was a good bay mare, / As ever trod on airn; / But now she's floating down the Nith, / And past the mouth o' Cairn.
Peg Nicholson was a good bay mare, / An' rode thro' thick and thin; / But now she's floating down the Nith, / And wanting even the skin.
Peg Nicholson was a good bay mare, / And ance she bore a priest; / But now she's floating down the Nith, / For Solway fish a feast.
Peg Nicholson was a good bay mare, / An' the priest he rode her sair; / And much oppress'd and bruis'd she was, / As priest-rid cattle are,-&c. &c.
What this Textopian page supports
Elegy on Willie Nicol's Mare is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1808 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: 1808 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Elegy, Satirical Poetry, Mock Elegy, Scottish Dialect Poetry, Animal Poetry
- Length: 168 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Easy (6th Grade)
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- Work identity for Elegy on Willie Nicol's Mare by Robert Burns
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Genres
- Elegy — The poem laments the death and degradation of Peg Nicholson, Willie Nicol's mare, using repeated mourning lines and images of her body floating down the River Nith.
- Satirical Poetry — Burns uses the mare's fate to mock her rider, especially the priest, whose harsh treatment is presented as oppressive and cruel.
- Mock Elegy — Although it adopts the repetitive lamenting manner of an elegy, the subject is a horse and the tone includes comic exaggeration, making the grief deliberately humorous.
- Scottish Dialect Poetry — The poem is written substantially in Scots vernacular, including words such as 'ance,' 'sair,' 'trod,' and 'o',' linking it to Burns's Scottish dialect verse.
Tags
elegy · satirical verse · Scottish vernacular poetry · death of a horse · mare · animal lament · Peg Nicholson · Willie Nicol · priest-ridden animal · clerical satire · animal cruelty · oppression