Union and Separation

Sir Walter Scott’s and Robert Burns’ poems “The Lay of the Last Minstrel” and “March to Bannockburn” contain elements of both nationalism and integration. The Albert Graeme section of “Minstrel” tells of an English family displeased with their daughter’s choice to marry a Scottish knight, which leads the knight to take his revenge upon the usurping English. “Bannockburn” is an account of Robert the Bruce’s speech to his army before the battle in which Scotland gains full independence from England. Yet both poems also try to reconcile the two countries. Graeme ends every stanza with a variation of “Love is the lord of all,” indicating that love transcends all nationalities. The Fitzraver section recounts the history of the Earl of Surrey, who though English, was considered a hero in Scotland for opposing the hated Henry VIII. “Bannockburn” indicates that it is not necessarily England that the Scots are rebelling against, but Edward I. These poems clearly indicate Scotland’s history of cycling back and forth between unionist and separatist sentiments.