Raving Winds Around her Blowing by Robert Burns
The verses portray Isabella M'Leod of Raza wandering alone beside a loudly roaring river while wild winds scatter yellow leaves through the woods. Grieving the death of her sister and her sister’s husband, she contrasts former days of sunshine, joy, and pleasure with a present night of sorrow that offers no hope of morning. Dwelling tenderly on the past and fearfully on a hopeless future, she feels grief chill her blood and despair take hold of her imagination. Life, once the source of every blessing, has become an unbearable burden, and she longs to surrender it to oblivion.
By Robert Burns · First published 1796 · Genre: Elegy, Lyric Poetry, Lament · 220 words
First lines
Tune-"M'Grigor of Roro's Lament."
I composed these verses on Miss Isabella M'Leod of Raza, alluding to her feelings on the death of her sister, and the still more melancholy death of her sister's husband, the late Earl of Loudoun, who shot himself out of sheer heart-break at some mortifications he suffered, owing to the deranged state of his finances. -R. B., 1971.
Raving winds around her blowing, / Yellow leaves the woodlands strowing, / By a river hoarsely roaring, / Isabella stray'd deploring-
"Farewell, hours that late did measure / Sunshine days of joy and pleasure; / Hail, thou gloomy night of sorrow, / Cheerless night that knows no morrow!
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Genres
- Elegy — The poem mourns devastating personal losses, including the death of Isabella M'Leod's sister and her brother-in-law, through sustained grief, despair, and death-oriented reflection.
- Lyric Poetry — It is a short, musical, first-person emotional poem structured for a specified tune and centered on an individual's intense inward feelings.
- Lament — The speaker deplores lost happiness and embraces a bleak vision of sorrow, hopelessness, and oblivion; the designated tune is itself a lament.
- Scottish Poetry — Written by Robert Burns for the tune 'M'Grigor of Roro's Lament,' the work belongs to the Scottish song and poetic tradition.
Tags
Scottish lyric poetry · elegy · lament · bereavement · sisterly grief · widowhood · suicide aftermath · mourning · despair · death wish · oblivion · hopeless future
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Raving Winds Around her Blowing is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1796 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: 1796 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Elegy, Lyric Poetry, Lament, Scottish Poetry, Pastoral Elegy
- Length: 220 words
- Structure: 1 section, 6 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Difficult (College Level)
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