Ye Jacobites by Name
written in 1791
Ye Jacobites by Name - fact Summary
Burns' Anti-jacobite Stance, 1791
Written in 1791, the poem addresses the Jacobite movement directly and rejects its cause. Burns, a supporter of the British government, condemns Jacobite doctrines as unjust and violent, portraying rebellion as benefiting the strong at the expense of the weak and turning sons against parents. The speaker mocks the pretensions of heroic struggle and urges Jacobites to abandon their schemes, warning that such politics leave ordinary people ruined. The tone is didactic and satirical rather than elegiac or sympathetic.
Read Complete AnalysesYe Jacobites by name, give an ear, give an ear, Ye Jacobites by name, give an ear, Ye Jacobites by name, Your fautes I will proclaim, Your doctrines I maun blame, you shall hear. What is Right and what is Wrang, by the law, by the law? What is Right and what is Wrang by the law? What is Right, and what is Wrang? A short sword, and a lang, A weak arm and a strang, for to draw. What makes heroic strife, famed afar, famed afar? What makes heroic strife famed afar? What makes heroic strife? To whet th' assassin's knife, Or hunt a Parent's life, wi' bluidy war? Then let your schemes alone, in the state, in the state, Then let your schemes alone in the state. Then let your schemes alone, Adore the rising sun, And leave a man undone, to his fate.
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