The Northern Lass
written in 1786
The Northern Lass - fact Summary
Written for Jean Armour
This short lyric expresses an unshakable, romantic devotion voiced by a speaker who promises to love Jean despite extreme separation and hardship. It uses grand geographic and elemental images—poles, mountains, deserts, oceans—to stress the speaker's constancy and emotional attachment. The poem frames love as more precious than life itself and as a stabilizing, enclosing force around the heart. It was composed in 1786 and is associated with Burns’s relationship with Jean Armour, providing a personal context for its declarations.
Read Complete AnalysesThough cruel Fate should bid us part, Far as the Pole and Line, Her dear idea round my heart Should tenderly entwine: Though mountains rise, and deserts howl, And oceans roar between; Yet dearer than my deathless soul I still would love my Jean.
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