The Banks of Nith by Robert Burns
The speaker contrasts the proud Thames, lined with royal cities, with the Nith, which he loves more deeply because of its honoured land and associations with former command by the Comyns. Separated from the river by adverse Fortune, he longs to see its winding course again and fears being kept away forever. He praises the Nith’s fruitful valleys, flowering hawthorns, sloping dales, and lambs playing among the broom. Though compelled to wander far from its bonie banks and braes, he wishes that his final hours may be spent there among the friends of his early days.
By Robert Burns · First published 1792 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Pastoral Poetry, Scottish Vernacular Poetry · 162 words
First lines
The Thames flows proudly to the sea, / Where royal cities stately stand; / But sweeter flows the Nith to me, / Where Comyns ance had high command. / When shall I see that honour'd land, / That winding stream I love so dear! / Must wayward Fortune's adverse hand / For ever, ever keep me here!
How lovely, Nith, thy fruitful vales, / Where bounding hawthorns gaily bloom; / And sweetly spread thy sloping dales, / Where lambkins wanton through the broom. / Tho' wandering now must be my doom, / Far from thy bonie banks and braes, / May there my latest hours consume, / Amang the friends of early days!
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Genres
- Lyric Poetry — The work is a short, intensely personal poetic expression of longing, affection, and emotional attachment to a beloved place.
- Pastoral Poetry — It idealizes the rural landscape of the River Nith through fertile valleys, blooming hawthorns, sloping dales, lambs, broom, and peaceful countryside.
- Scottish Vernacular Poetry — Burns employs Scots diction and forms, including words such as 'ance,' 'bonie,' 'braes,' 'amang,' and 'lambkins,' grounding the poem in Scottish linguistic tradition.
- Nature Poetry — The Nith and its surrounding landscape are central subjects, described with affectionate attention to their beauty, fertility, and natural life.
Tags
Scottish lyric poetry · river Nith · Dumfriesshire landscape · Scotland · eighteenth-century poetry · nostalgia for home · exile and separation · longing to return · beloved homeland · nature and pastoral scenery · rivers · rural valleys
What this Textopian page supports
The Banks of Nith is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1792 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: 1792 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Pastoral Poetry, Scottish Vernacular Poetry, Nature Poetry, Exile Poetry
- Length: 162 words
- Structure: 1 section, 2 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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