Wha Is That at My Bower Door?
written in 1792
Wha Is That at My Bower Door? - meaning Summary
Persistent Visitor at the Bower
A brief Scots dialogue between a speaker guarding their bower and a visitor named Findlay. The speaker repeatedly urges Findlay to leave, citing noise, dawn and impropriety; Findlay persistently answers that he will stay. The repeated back-and-forth creates a comic, insistent rhythm and frames a tension between refusal and determination. Read plainly, the poem sketches a scene of pursuit and resistance at a domestic threshold; its repetition emphasizes persistence and the uneasy negotiation of boundaries between host and intruder.
Read Complete AnalysesWha is that at my bower-door? O wha is it but Findlay; Then gae your gate, ye'se nae be here! Indeed maun I, quo' Findlay. What mak ye, sae like a thief? O come and see, quo' Findlay; Before the morn ye'll work mischief; Indeed will I, quo' Findlay. Gif I rise and let you in, Let me in, quo' Findlay; Ye'll keep me waukin wi' your din; Indeed will I, quo' Findlay. In my bower if ye should stay, Let me stay, quo' Findlay; I fear ye'll bide till break o' day; Indeed will I, quo' Findlay. Here this night if ye remain, I'll remain, quo' Findlay; I dread ye'll learn the gate again; Indeed will I, quo' Findlay. What may pass within this bower, Let it pass, quo' Findlay; Ye maun conceal till your last hour; Indeed will I, quo' Findlay.
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