The Lovely Lass O' Inverness
written in 1794
The Lovely Lass O' Inverness - context Summary
Drumossie Moor and Culloden
Written in 1794, the poem mourns the losses suffered after Drumossie Moor (Culloden). It presents a grieving woman from Inverness who has lost her father, brothers and beloved on the battlefield and now lives in daily sorrow. The speaker both records communal bereavement and directs blame at the unnamed "cruel lord," linking personal grief to political violence. The poem compresses lament and accusation into a brief, narrative lament that keeps the focus on loss, memory and the aftermath of a specific historic defeat.
Read Complete AnalysesThe luvely Lass o' Inverness, Nae joy nor pleasure can she see; For, e'en and morn she cries, Alas! And aye the saut tear blins her e'e. Drumossie moor, Drumossie day, A waefu' day it was to me; For there I lost my father dear, My father dear and brethren three. Their winding-sheet the bluidy clay, Their graves are growin' green to see; And by them lies the dearest lad That ever blest a woman's e'e! Now wae to thee, thou cruel lord, A bludy man I trow thou be; For mony a heart thou has made sair, That ne'er did wrang to thine or thee!
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