Robin and Makyne

Robert Henryson 1425 – 1500



ROBIN sat on gude green hill,
   Kepand a flock of fe:
Mirry Makyne said him till
   'Robin, thou rew on me:
I haif thee luvit, loud and still,
   Thir yeiris twa or thre;
My dule in dern bot gif thou dill,
   Doutless but dreid I de.'

Robin answerit 'By the Rude
   Na thing of luve I knaw,
But keipis my scheip undir yon wud:
   Lo, quhair they raik on raw.
Quhat has marrit thee in thy mude,
   Makyne, to me thou shaw;
Or quhat is luve, or to be lude?
   Fain wad I leir that law.'

'At luvis lair gif thou will leir
   Tak thair ane A B C;
Be heynd, courtass, and fair of feir,
   Wyse, hardy, and free:
So that no danger do thee deir
   Quhat dule in dern thou dre;
Preiss thee with pain at all poweir
   Be patient and previe.'

Robin answerit hir agane,
   'I wat nocht quhat is lufe;
But I haif mervel in certaine
   Quhat makis thee this wanrufe:
The weddir is fair, and I am fain;
   My scheip gois haill aboif;
And we wald prey us in this plane,
   They wald us baith reproif.'

'Robin, tak tent unto my tale,
   And wirk all as I reid,
And thou sall haif my heart all haill,
   Eik and my maiden-heid:
Sen God sendis bute for baill,
   And for murnyng remeid,
In dern with thee bot gif I daill
   Dowtles I am bot deid.'

'Makyne, to-morn this ilka tyde
   And ye will meit me heir,
Peraventure my scheip may gang besyde,
   Quhyle we haif liggit full neir;
But mawgre haif I, and I byde,
   Fra they begin to steir;
Quhat lyis on heart I will nocht hyd;
   Makyn, then mak gude cheir.'

'Robin, thou reivis me roiff and rest;
   I luve bot thee allane.'
'Makyne, adieu! the sone gois west,
   The day is neir-hand gane.'
'Robin, in dule I am so drest
   That luve will be my bane.'
'Ga luve, Makyne, quhair-evir thow list,
   For lemman I luve nane.'

'Robin, I stand in sic a styll,
   I sicht and that full sair.'
'Makyne, I haif been here this quhyle;
   At hame God gif I wair.'
'My huny, Robin, talk ane quhyll,
   Gif thow will do na mair.'
'Makyn, sum uthir man begyle,
   For hamewart I will fair.'

Robin on his wayis went
   As light as leif of tre;
Makyne murnit in hir intent,
   And trowd him nevir to se.
Robin brayd attour the bent:
   Then Makyne cryit on hie,
'Now may thow sing, for I am schent!
   Quhat alis lufe at me?'

Makyne went hame withowttin fail,
   Full wery eftir cowth weip;
Then Robin in a ful fair daill
   Assemblit all his scheip.
Be that sum part of Makynis aill
   Out-throw his hairt cowd creip;
He fallowit hir fast thair till assaill,
   And till her tuke gude keip.

'Abyd, abyd, thow fair Makyne,
   A word for ony thing;
For all my luve, it sall be thyne,
   Withowttin departing.
All haill thy hairt for till haif myne
   Is all my cuvating;
My scheip to-morn, quhyle houris nyne,
   Will neid of no keping.'

'Robin, thow hes hard soung and say,
   In gestis and storeis auld,
The man that will nocht quhen he may
   Sall haif nocht quhen he wald.
I pray to Jesu every day,
   Mot eik thair cairis cauld
That first preissis with thee to play
   Be firth, forrest, or fauld.'

'Makyne, the nicht is soft and dry,
   The weddir is warme and fair,
And the grene woid rycht neir us by
   To walk attour all quhair:
Thair ma na janglour us espy,
   That is to lufe contrair;
Thairin, Makyne, baith ye and I,
   Unsene we ma repair.'

'Robin, that warld is all away,
   And quyt brocht till ane end:
And nevir agane thereto, perfay,
   Sall it be as thow wend;
For of my pane thow maid it play;
   And
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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

3:13 min read
131

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABACADAC EFEDEGEG DCDCDDDB FBFBFBFB HXAXAEAE EDEDEDED IFIFEFXF ADADADAD JBJXJXEC HKAKAKAK FLFLFLFL BMBMBEBE DDNDCDND BOBOBX
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 3,443
Words 661
Stanzas 14
Stanza Lengths 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 8, 6

Robert Henryson

Robert Henryson was a poet who flourished in Scotland in the period c. 1460–1500. Counted among the Scots makars, he lived in the royal burgh of Dunfermline and is a distinctive voice in the Northern Renaissance at a time when the culture was on a cusp between medieval and renaissance sensibilities. Little is known of his life, but evidence suggests that he was a teacher who had training in law and the humanities, that he had a connection with Dunfermline Abbey and that he may also have been associated for a period with Glasgow University. His poetry was composed in Middle Scots at a time when this had become a state language. It is one of the most important bodies of work in the canon of early Scottish literature. His writing consists mainly of narrative works highly inventive in their development of story-telling techniques. He generally achieved a canny balance of humour and high seriousness which is often multi-layered in its effects. This is especially so in his Morall Fabillis, in which he expresses a consistent but complex world view that seems standard, on the surface, vis a vis the major ruling power of the church, while containing critical and questioning elements. more…

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