Strathallan's Lament
written in 1787
Strathallan's Lament - context Summary
Composed in 1787
Composed in 1787, Robert Burns’s "Strathallan's Lament" frames private suffering as the aftermath of a failed public cause. The speaker calls for darkness and storm to match his inner turmoil, contrasting nature’s sounds with his isolation. He recalls engagement "in the cause of Right" and a fought but unsuccessful struggle, leading to ruin and exile from friendship. The poem reads as a personal and political lament, mourning both lost honor and the social abandonment that follows defeat.
Read Complete AnalysesThickest night, surround my dwelling! Howling tempests, o'er me rave! Turbid torrents, wintry swelling, Roaring by my lonely cave. Chrystal streamlets gently flowing, Busy haunts of base mankind, Western breezes softly blowing, Suit not my distracted mind. In the cause of Right engaged, Wrongs injurious to redress, Honor's war we strongly waged, But the heavens deny'd success: Ruin's wheel has driven o'er us, Not a hope that dare attend, The wide world is all before us But a world without a friend!
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