On the Death of John M'leod, Esq.
written in 1787
On the Death of John M'leod, Esq. - fact Summary
Composed to Mourn M'leod
This short elegy by Robert Burns mourns the death of John M'Leod and records the sorrow of Isabella, his bereaved sister or lover. Using nature imagery—rose, sun, and blasts—the poem traces a shift from fragile earthly joy to sudden loss. The tone moves from lament to consolation as the speaker invokes divine power to heal grief and promises a moralized afterlife where virtue endures beyond mortal change. It is a compact pastoral elegy that pairs personal mourning with religious comfort.
Read Complete AnalysesSad thy tale, thou idle page, And rueful thy alarms: Death tears the brother of her love From Isabella's arms. Sweetly deckt with pearly dew The morning rose may blow; But cold successive noontide blasts May lay its beauties low. Fair on Isabella's morn The sun propitious smil'd; But, long ere noon, succeeding clouds Succeeding hopes beguil'd. Fate oft tears the bosom chords That Nature finest strung; So Isabella's heart was form'd, And so that heart was wrung. Dread Omnipotence, alone Can heal the wound He gave; Can point the brimful grief-worn eyes To scenes beyond the grave. Virtue's blossoms there shall blow, And fear no withering blast; There Isabella's spotless worth Shall happy be at last.
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