Strathallan's Lament by Robert Burns
A distressed speaker calls for darkness, storms, and swollen torrents around his lonely cave, rejecting gentle streams and breezes. He laments the defeat of a war fought to redress wrongs and faces a world without hope or friends.
By Robert Burns · Genre: Lyric Poetry, War Poetry · 196 words
First lines
Burns confesses that his Jacobtism was merely sentimental "except when my passions were heated by some accidental cause," and a tour through the country where Montrose, Claverhouse, and Prince Charles had fought, was cause enough. Strathallan fell gloriously at Culloden. -Lang.
Thickest night, o'erhang my dwelling! / Howling tempests, o'er me rave! / Turbid torrents, wintry swelling, / Roaring by my lonely cave!
Crystal streamlets gently flowing, / Busy haunts of base mankind, / Western breezes softly blowing, / Suit not my distracted mind.
What this Textopian page supports
Strathallan's Lament is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated Date unknown.
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: Date unknown
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, War Poetry
- Length: 196 words
- Structure: 1 section, 4 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
Good citation fit
- Work identity for Strathallan's Lament by Robert Burns
- Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
- Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
- Readability and classroom-planning context
- Passage-specific claims should cite the exact /read/ URL for the relevant chapter or paragraph
Genres
- Lyric Poetry — The speaker expresses his distress in rhymed verse, calling for violent weather that suits his troubled mind.
- War Poetry — The final stanza laments an unsuccessful war fought to redress wrongs and the hopeless isolation that follows defeat.
Tags
lament · war · defeat · isolation · storms