The Mauchline Lady by Robert Burns
The speaker recalls arriving in Stewart Kyle as restless and changeable in love, always keeping a mistress wherever he travelled. Passing near Mauchline without fear or expectation, however, he is suddenly captivated by a lady from the town, who takes his heart before he realizes it.
By Robert Burns · First published 1792 · Genre: Lyric Poetry, Love Poetry, Scottish Vernacular Poetry · 90 words
First lines
Tune-"I had a horse, I had nae mair."
When first I came to Stewart Kyle, / My mind it was na steady; / Where'er I gaed, where'er I rade, / A mistress still I had aye.
But when I came roun' by Mauchline toun, / Not dreadin anybody, / My heart was caught, before I thought, / And by a Mauchline lady.
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Genres
- Lyric Poetry — This short verse is a compact personal lyric expressing the speaker's sudden emotional attachment to a woman from Mauchline.
- Love Poetry — Its central subject is the speaker's heart being unexpectedly captured by a particular lady, making romantic attraction its dominant theme.
- Scottish Vernacular Poetry — Burns writes in Scots dialect, using forms such as 'gaed,' 'rade,' 'aye,' 'na,' and 'toun,' grounding the poem in Scottish vernacular literary tradition.
- Song — The supplied tune designation, 'I had a horse, I had nae mair,' indicates that the verse is designed as a song lyric set to an existing melody.
Tags
Scottish vernacular poetry · Scots language · love lyric · romantic attraction · sudden love · heart captured · fickle lover · multiple mistresses · courtship · female beloved · Mauchline · Stewart Kyle
What this Textopian page supports
The Mauchline Lady 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, Love Poetry, Scottish Vernacular Poetry, Song, Pastoral Poetry
- Length: 90 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
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