Sweet Fa's the Eve on Craigieburn
written in 1795
Sweet Fa's the Eve on Craigieburn - meaning Summary
Sorrow Beneath Spring's Renewal
The speaker stands in a bright spring landscape at Craigieburn yet feels deep personal sorrow. Natural images—flowers, trees, birds—contrast with the speaker’s inner distress caused by a concealed romantic attachment. Fear of anger prevents confession, so the grief is kept secret and threatens to "break" the speaker’s heart. The poem moves from pastoral scene to private despair and ends with a stark conditional about rejection: if the beloved refuses or loves another, the speaker imagines their life—and the greenness of spring—wilting around their grave. The tone is resigned and elegiac.
Read Complete AnalysesSweet fa's the eve on Craigieburn, And blythe awakes the morrow, But a' the pride o' Spring's return Can yield me nocht but sorrow. I see the flowers and spreading trees, I hear the wild birds singing; But what a weary wight can please, And Care his bosom wringing! Fain, fain would I my griefs impart, Yet dare na for your anger; But secret love will break my heart, If I conceal it langer. If thou refuse to pity me; If thou shalt love another; When yon green leaves fade frae the tree, Around my grave they'll wither.
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