M'Pherson's Farewell by Robert Burns
M'Pherson bids farewell to the dark prison that has held him and faces imminent death on the gallows-tree. He treats death with defiance, saying he has confronted it on bloody plains and scorns it again even at the place of execution. He demands to be freed from his bonds and given his sword, claiming he would challenge any man in Scotland. Though he has lived amid hardship and conflict, he is bitter that treachery has brought about his death and that he must leave the world unavenged. Saying farewell to sunlight and all beneath the sky, he curses with shame anyone too cowardly to face death. Throughout, he is described as playing a tune and dancing boldly beneath the gallows-tree.
By Robert Burns · First published 1790 · Genre: Ballad, Scottish Folk Song, Gallows Ballad · 270 words
First lines
Tune-"M'Pherson's Rant."
Farewell, ye dungeons dark and strong, / The wretch's destinie! / M'Pherson's time will not be long / On yonder gallows-tree.
Chorus. -Sae rantingly, sae wantonly, / Sae dauntingly gaed he; / He play'd a spring, and danc'd it round, / Below the gallows-tree.
O, what is death but parting breath? / On many a bloody plain / I've dared his face, and in this place / I scorn him yet again! / Sae rantingly, &c.
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Genres
- Ballad — The work uses a strongly rhythmic, stanzaic form with a recurring chorus to recount the condemned M'Pherson's final defiance before execution, characteristic of a traditional ballad.
- Scottish Folk Song — Written to the tune 'M'Pherson's Rant' and employing Scots diction, the poem is designed as a performable song rooted in Scottish oral and musical tradition.
- Gallows Ballad — Its central situation is a prisoner's farewell immediately before hanging, with the gallows, death, courage, and public execution dominating the subject.
- Dramatic Monologue — M'Pherson speaks directly in the first person, giving a self-revealing final speech that presents his anger, pride, martial identity, and contempt for death.
Tags
Scottish ballad · execution song · gallows · prison farewell · condemned man · defiance of death · bravery · honor · revenge · betrayal · unavenged death · sword
What this Textopian page supports
M'Pherson's Farewell 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: Ballad, Scottish Folk Song, Gallows Ballad, Dramatic Monologue, Narrative Poetry
- Length: 270 words
- Structure: 1 section, 7 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Very Easy (5th Grade or below)
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