Poetry, Allan Ramsay, The gentle Shepherd

May 5, '09 6:45 PM for everyone

Portrait of Allan Ramsay (Poet)

by William Aikman (1682—1731)

link back to the tour here
http://lauritasita.multiply.com/journal/item/1281/Poetry_Wednesday_050609_Sign_in_and_take_the_tour

Allan Ramsay; Biography
Allan Ramsay Scottish Poet 1686 – 1758

He was born on the 15th October 1686 at Leadhills, Lanarkshire to John Ramsay, superintendent of Lord Hopetoun's lead-mines and his wife, Alice Bower, a native of Derbyshire, England. He died at Edinburgh on the 7th day of January 1758 aged 73, and was buried in the Greyfriar's churchyard. He was educated at the parish school of Crawford, and in 1701 was apprenticed to a wig-maker in Edinburgh. He married Christian Ross in 1712 and soon established himself as a wig-maker in the High Street. They had six children. His eldest child was Allan Ramsay, the portrait painter.

Allan Ramsay, 1713 - 1784.
Artist (Self-portrait)

Ramsay's first efforts in poetry were inspired by the Easy Club (founded in 1712), of which he was an original member. Within this club he took the pen names  "Isaac Bickerstaff" and  of "Gawin Douglas," the latter in memory of his maternal grandfather Douglas of Muthill (Perthshire), and also to legitimize his claim that he was a "poet sprung from a Douglas loin." . In 1725 he produced his dramatic pastoral THE GENTLE SHEPHERD. In the volume of poems published in 1722 Ramsay had shown his inclination for this type of work, especially in "Patie and Roger," which depicts two of the main characters from The Gentle Shepherd. The success of the drama was/ is remarkable. It has been reprinted into several editions and has been performed in theaters through out Scotland even though its popularity with ordinary Scots people has waned a little over recent years.

Ramsay's importance in literary history is twofold. As a pastoral writer ("in some respects the best in the world," according to James Henry Leigh Hunt) he contributed to the validation of vernacular Scottish language in literature.  His Gentle Shepherd, with its appreciation of country life written in every day lowland language of the day led the break with the established neo-classical tradition. He is also remembered for his importance as an editor. He is the connecting-link between the greater "Makars" of the 15th and 16th centuries, and Robert Fergusson and Robert Burns who came slightly later. He revived interest in vernacular literature, and directly inspired the genius of his greater successors including Burns.

The Gentle Shepherd by Sir David Wilkie
[Scottish Painter, 1785-1841]

Full text of The Gentle Shepherd

http://www.scotstext.org/makars/allan_ramsay/default.asp

Sources

The Gentle Shepherd:
 A Pastoral Comedy,
 by Allan Ramsay;

With eight steel engravings by David Allan;
(David Allan (13 February 1744 – 6 August 1796) was a Scottish painter, best known for historical subjects.)


SCENE I.

PROLOGUE TO THE SCENE.
Beneath the sooth side o a craigy bield,
Where crystal springs their halesome waters yield,
Twa youthfu shepherds on the gowans lay,
Tentin their flocks ae bonny morn o Mey.
Puir Roger granes, till hollow echoes ring;
But blyther Patie likes to lauch an sing.
My Peggy is a young thing,
Juist entered in her teens,
Fair as the day an sweet as Mey,
Fair as the day an always gay.
My Peggy is a young thing,
An I'm nae very auld,
Yet weel I like to meet her at
The waukin o the fauld.
My Peggy speaks sae sweetly,
Whene'er we meet alane,
I wish nae mair to lay my care,-
I wish nae mair o a' that's rare.
My Peggy speaks sae sweetly,
To a' the lave I'm cauld,
But she gars a' my spirits glow,
At waukin o the fauld.
My Peggy smiles sae kindly,
Whene'er I whisper love,
That I leuk doun on a' the toun,-
That I leuk doun upon a croun.
My Peggy smiles sae kindly,
It maks me blythe an bauld,
An naething gies me sic delyte,
As waukin o the fauld.
My Peggy sings sae saftly,
When on my pipe I play,
By a' the rest it is confest-
By a' the rest that she sings best.
My Peggy sings sae saftly,
An in her sangs are tauld,
Wi innocence, the wale o sense,
At waukin o the fauld.

PATIE.
THIS sunny mornin, Roger, cheers my bluid,
An pits a' natur in a jovial mood.
How hertsome is't to see the risin plants!-
To hear the birds chirm ower their pleasin rants!
How halesome is't to snuff the cauler air,
An a' the sweets it bears, when void o care!
What ails ye, Roger, then? what gars ye grane?
Tell me the cause o thy ill-seasoned pain.
ROGER.
I'm born, O Patie! to a thrawart fate;
I'm born to strive wi hardships sad an great!
Tempests mey cease to jaw the rowin flude,
Corbies an tods to grien for lambkins' bluid;
But I, opprest wi never endin grief,
Maun aye despair o lichtin on relief.
PATIE.
The bees shall loathe the flouer, an quit the hive,
The sauchs on boggy grund shall cease to thrive,
Or scornfu queans, or loss o worldly gear,
Shall spill my rest, or ever force a teir.
ROGER.
Sae micht I say; but it's no easy duin
By ane whase saul's sae sadly oot o tune.
Ye hae sae saft a voice, an slid a tongue,
That ye're the darlin o baith auld an young.
If I but ettle at a sang, or speak,
They dit their lugs, syne up their leglins cleek,
An jeer me hameward frae the loan or bucht,
While I'm confused wi mony a vexin thocht.
Yet I am tall, an as weel built as thee,
Nor mair unlikely to a lass's ee;
For ilka sheep ye hae, I'll number ten,
An should, as ane mey think, come farer ben.

delete reply bennett1 wrote on May 6, '09 After reading the translation, and especially knowing both Patie and Roger are men and discussing their worldview, it is a lovely poem.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on May 6, '09 ok.............if you still want your translation here it is http://forgetmenot525.multiply.com/journal/item/294/The_Gentle_Shepherd_a_translation

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on May 6, '09 sanssouciblogs said Please give a little translation I will certainly try but it could take a while, interesting project though.................glad you like it

delete reply lauritasita wrote on May 6, '09 sanssouciblogs said Please give a little translation, I want to appreciate it more. I loved this too. Thanks Loretta.

delete reply sanssouciblogs wrote on May 6, '09 I can hear this, the accent is lovely, beautiful lilt, beautiful presentation, Loretta. Please give a little translation, I want to appreciate it more.

delete reply starfishred wrote on May 6, '09 this is very lovely loretta thank you-

delete reply bennett1 wrote on May 6, '09 I found it a bit difficult to understand, and I suppose I was thrown off by confusion over whether he loved Patie or Peggy. But the language is beautiful, so even though I did not totally understand it, I found it easier when I said it out loud.

edit delete reply forgetmenot525 wrote on May 6, '09 brendainmad said this isn't quite as difficult to understand as I thought it'd be. Thank you Brenda, I do agree that it isn't that hard to underfstand,there are a few words I'm not sure about but on the whole I found it easier than a lot of Burns. I've read quite a few bits and pieces from it and I think it's lovely, quite different to most other things I've read, glad you enjoyed it.

delete reply brendainmad wrote on May 6, '09 This is lovely! I can almost hear their voices as this isn't quite as difficult to understand as I thought it'd be.