Lines Written on a Banknote by Robert Burns
The speaker curses the banknote’s power, blaming the lack of it for his sorrow. Without money, he has lost his beloved, must restrict his drink, and cannot help suffering people. He has witnessed oppressors triumph over helpless victims and wished for enough wealth to punish such villains. Poverty ultimately compels him to leave his beloved shore, perhaps never to see old Scotland again.
By Robert Burns · First published 1786 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Scottish Poetry, Political Poetry · 143 words
First lines
Wae worth thy power, thou cursed leaf! / Fell source o' a' my woe and grief! / For lack o' thee I've lost my lass! / For lack o' thee I scrimp my glass! / I see the children of affliction / Unaided, through thy curst restriction: / I've seen the oppressor's cruel smile / Amid his hapless victim's spoil; / And for thy potence vainly wished, / To crush the villain in the dust: / For lack o' thee, I leave this much-lov'd shore, / Never, perhaps, to greet old Scotland more.
R. B.
Similar titles
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- Address To The Toothache by Robert Burns
- Man Was Made To Mourn A Dirge by Robert Burns
- A Winter Night by Robert Burns
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- Address Of Beelzebub by Robert Burns
Genres
- Lyric Poetry — A short, intensely personal verse poem expressing the speaker's grief, anger, and longing through compressed emotional language.
- Scottish Poetry — The poem uses Scots diction and identifies Scotland as the speaker's beloved homeland, placing it firmly in Burns's Scottish literary tradition.
- Political Poetry — It condemns oppression, sympathizes with suffering people, and imagines using money to defeat a cruel oppressor.
- Social Protest Poetry — The speaker protests the hardship caused by poverty and the unequal power held by exploiters over afflicted people.
Tags
poverty · money · banknote · financial hardship · lost love · separation · emigration · exile · Scotland · Scottish identity · social injustice · oppression
What this Textopian page supports
Lines Written on a Banknote is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1786 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: 1786 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Scottish Poetry, Political Poetry, Social Protest Poetry, Satirical Poetry
- Length: 143 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
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- Work identity for Lines Written on a Banknote by Robert Burns
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