Thursday, February 2, 2012
A Vulnerable But Resilient Scotland in Burns' "Barleycorn"
In his poem entitled "John Barleycorn. A Ballad," Robert Burns addresses the current conflicts between Scotland and England through the characters of John Barleycorn and "three kings into the east" who had "sworn a solemn oath" that he should die. The main character of the poem, the personification of Scotland, is presented as an almost anonymous character, much akin to the John Doe of today. He is a normal, everyday man, perhaps meant to satirically imply something about Britain's perception of Scotland and Scottish people at the time. He is deliberately devoid of any deeper identity aside from his quiet susceptibility to the abuse of powers greater than he, much like Scotland was viewed as subordinate to England and always on the receiving end of its grievances. The poet then turns this on its head by the ending when Barleycorn is pronounced to be essentially immortal as his "noble enterprise" is carried on in Scotland through "his great posterity." Scotland, then, is resilient and, through his good character, can regain strength even under Britain's oppression.
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The contrast between the reader's initial impression of John Barleycorn and his charge to prevail at the end of the poem is a powerful tool. I appreciate Ivy's interpretation that John Barleycorn's overly simplistic description functions to mock the British people's underestimation of Scottish power and resilience-traits that by the end of the poem the speaker assures the British will see. The swing that occurs between these stanzas of helpless description and the introduction of an invincible John Barleycorn seems to follow along with the great minds of England in their realization that Scotland is not a mindless entity that will be conquered and adopted without a fight. This crossover of perspectives-though hardly flattering to England on the other side-demonstrates Romantic strength as is detailed in Godwin's "Of History and Romance," as it does not contain itself to the views of the Scottish poet.
ReplyDeleteNot only does this mock English interpretation of the Scots, but also provides a blank persona on which Scottish men and women could project themselves. This would have made for a powerful weapon of Scottish cultural resilience.
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