"Robene and Makyne" is a short poem by the 15th-century
Scottish makar Robert Henryson
Robert Henryson (Middle Scots: Robert Henrysoun) 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 Renai ...
. It is an early example of Scottish ''
pastourelle'' written in a form of
ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...
stanza and is almost unique of its kind. Very simple in structure and plot, yet highly compressed, multi-layered and open in its possible interpretations, it exemplifies Henryson's ability to combine complexity and restraint. The brevity and balanced structure of the poem creates effects that invite comparisons with music.
Outline
Robene and
Makyne (also spelt ''Mawkin'') are stock names for
peasant
A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasant ...
characters, a
shepherd and a country maiden. Henryson presents the two characters in the sparest of terms and much in the poem has to be inferred. Strictly speaking, nothing in the text verifies precisely who Makyne might be. In the first half of the poem she declares longstanding love for Robene but he is indifferent to her feelings. Minds quickly change and in the closing arc the hopeless declaration is from Robene. This simple dramatic reversal comes at the
golden section
In mathematics, two quantities are in the golden ratio if their ratio is the same as the ratio of their sum to the larger of the two quantities. Expressed algebraically, for quantities a and b with a > b > 0,
where the Greek letter phi ...
. Makyne's rejection of Robene is final.
Henryson's writing suggests subtexts around the issue of
chastity
Chastity, also known as purity, is a virtue related to temperance. Someone who is ''chaste'' refrains either from sexual activity considered immoral or any sexual activity, according to their state of life. In some contexts, for example when ma ...
, a material issue in the late medieval Church and of possible relevance in the poet's own life. The spareness allows different and perhaps dissonant readings to be simultaneously present, but any "
allegorical
As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...
" implications are present without pretentiousness or loss of authentic feeling and the poem stands as a simple
comic creation with a surprisingly wide range of emotion and intriguing
tonal ambiguity.
The closure, peculiar in its effect, evokes feelings of emptiness and a sense of
musical return.
["I do not know which to prefer,
:The beauty of inflections
:Or the beauty of innuendoes,
:The blackbird whistling
:Or just after."
: Wallace Stevens, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird."]
Extract
Stanzas 12 and 13 of "Robene and Makyne":
This section from the poem follows the
turning point
A turning point, or climax, is the point of highest tension in a narrative work.
Turning Point or Turning Points may refer to:
Film
* ''The Turning Point'', a 1914 silent film starring Caroline Cooke
* ''The Turning Point'' (1920 film), an Ame ...
. The first stanza is spoken by Makyne. One of the most striking effects is the apparent emotional dissociation in Robene's response.
:"Robene, 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
preiss with
the
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...
to play
:Be
firth
Firth is a word in the English and Scots languages used to denote various coastal waters in the United Kingdom, predominantly within Scotland. In the Northern Isles, it more usually refers to a smaller inlet. It is linguistically cognate to ''fj ...
, forest or
fawld."
:"Makyne, the nicht is soft and dry,
:The wedder is warme and fair,
:And the
grene woid rycht
neir us by
:
To walk attour allquhair;
:Thair ma na
janglour us espy,
:That is to
lufe contrair;
:Thairin, Makyne, bath ye and I
:Unsene we ma repair."
See also
* "
The Baffled Knight"
* "
The Hireling Shepherd"
References
External links
*
"Tom Scott on Henryson's Short Works" by the 20th-century Scottish poet and critic
Tom Scott (1918–1995)
{{Henryson
15th-century poems
Scottish poems
Works by Robert Henryson