Out over the Forth by Robert Burns
The speaker looks across the Forth and finds no comfort in the north, the Highlands, the south, the east, foreign lands, or the sea. She turns her thoughts westward before sleep, because the man she loves most lives there and is dear both to her and to her baby.
By Robert Burns · First published 1791 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Scottish Poetry · 106 words
First lines
Out over the Forth, I look to the North; / But what is the north and its Highlands to me? / The south nor the east gie ease to my breast, / The far foreign land, or the wide rolling sea.
But I look to the west when I gae to rest, / That happy my dreams and my slumbers may be; / For far in the west lives he I loe best, / The man that is dear to my babie and me.
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Genres
- Lyric Poetry — The work is a brief, songlike first-person poem focused on concentrated personal feeling, musical phrasing, and emotional expression rather than narrative plot.
- Love Poetry — Its central theme is the speaker's devotion to an absent beloved, who is described as the person she loves most and as dear to both her and her child.
- Scottish Poetry — The poem invokes the Forth, the Highlands, and Scottish regional directions, while its diction includes Scots forms such as 'gae,' 'gie,' 'loe,' and 'babie.'
- Folk Song — Its simple stanzaic construction, repetition, vernacular language, and direct emotional appeal give it the character of a traditional Scottish song lyric.
Tags
Scottish lyric poetry · love poem · female speaker · romantic longing · separation from a beloved · westward gaze · the Firth of Forth · Scotland · Highlands · Scottish vernacular · domestic affection · motherhood
What this Textopian page supports
Out over the Forth is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1791 CE.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Robert Burns
- Date: 1791 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Scottish Poetry, Folk Song, Romantic Poetry
- Length: 106 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
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