The Lass of Cessnock Banks by Robert Burns
The song praises a lass who lives on Cessnock banks and surpasses all other lasses in beauty, especially through her “twa sparkling roguish een.” Her sweetness is compared to morning dawn; her stature to a fresh young ash; and her purity to a flowering thorn in the dewy morning. Her appearance recalls serene May evenings, curling mountain mist, a rainbow brightened by sunbeams, a crimson flower opening on its thorny stem, and snow at keen dawn. Her lips resemble ripe cherries, her teeth a clean white flock of sheep ascending a slope, her breath a fragrant breeze among blossomed beans, and her voice an evening thrush singing unseen on Cessnock banks. Yet the speaker finally values more than her physical grace: her true distinction is the shining mind expressed through every charm, and most particularly through her roguish eyes.
By Robert Burns · First published 1786 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Pastoral Poetry · 610 words
First lines
The lass is identified as Ellison Begbie, a servant wench, daughter of a "Farmer Lang".
A Song of Similes
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Genres
- Lyric Poetry — A short, song-like poem expressing the speaker's admiring feelings through musical repetition, stanzaic form, and a recurring refrain.
- Love Poetry — The poem is an affectionate celebration of a beloved woman's beauty, charm, intelligence, and especially her 'sparkling roguish een.'
- Pastoral Poetry — Its idealized rural setting on the banks of Cessnock and its imagery of dawn, flowers, birds, streams, fields, and mountain mist place it firmly in a pastoral mode.
- Scottish Vernacular Poetry — Burns uses Scots diction and idiom, including words such as 'lassie,' 'a','twa,' 'een,' and 'braes,' grounding the poem in Scottish literary and folk traditions.
Tags
Scottish song · lyric poetry · Scots language · courtship · female beauty · idealized woman · admiring speaker · romantic praise · inner beauty · intelligence and grace · roguish eyes · refrain
What this Textopian page supports
The Lass of Cessnock Banks is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1786 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: 1786 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Pastoral Poetry, Scottish Vernacular Poetry, Song
- Length: 610 words
- Structure: 1 section, 17 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Fairly Easy (7th Grade)
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