LL-L: "Online resources" LOWLANDS-L, 12.NOV.2000 (01) [E/S]

[Lowlands-L]

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From: Sandy Fleemin [sandy at scotstext.org]
Subject: "Online Resources"

[The following is in Scots and in English]

Alexander Montgomerie's clessic Scots poem "The Cherrie and
the Slae" is up on ScotsteXt nou, alang wi some additional
poems bi Montgomerie, an richt guid notes an a biography o
"Sandirs" hissel bi H. Harvey Wood, the editor o the 1937
edition o the poem. It can be a richt teuch read if ye want
ti lift a' the tirliwirlies o the airgyment, but the'r plenty
guid ti be gotten fae the study o'd bi onybody wi a interest
in the Scots langage: the uise o proverbs an ither like dauds
 o wisdom in Scots discoorse:

    Gif ony pacient wald be pancit,
    Quhy suld he loup quhen he is lancit
        Or schrink quhen he is schorne?
    For I have hard Chirurgianes say,
    Oft tymes deferring of ane day,
        Micht not be mend the morne:
    Tak time in time or time be tint
        For tyme will not remaine:
    Quhat forces fire out of the flint
        Bot als hard match againe:
            Delay not, and stay not,
                And thou sal sie it swae:
            So gets ay, that sets ay,
                Stout stomackis to the brae.

the clessical allusions:

    With earnest eye quhil I espye,
    The fruit betwixt me and the skye,
        Halfe gaite almaist to hevin:
    The craig sa cumbersume to clim,
    The trie sa hich of growth and trim,
        As ony arrowe evin:
    I cald to minde how Daphne did
        Within the Laurell schrink:
    Quhen from Appollo scho hir hid,
        A thousand times I think:
            That trie then, to me then,
                As he his laurell thocht:
            Aspyring, but tyring,
                To get that fruit I socht.

the enlichtenin uise o Scots grammar, like this typical Scots uise o
"baith":

    Sir, by that sentence yee have said,
    I pledge ere all the play bee plaid,
        That some shall lose a laike.
    Since yee but put me for to prove,
    Such heads as help for my behove,
        Your warrand is but waike.
    Speare at the man your selfe, and see,
        Suppose you strive for state,
    If hee regrated not how hee,
        Had learnd my lesson late,
            And granted, hee wanted,
                Both Reason, Wit, and Skill;
            Compleaning, and meaning,
                Our absence did him ill.

an o coorse, the conteenal uise o the bonny "Helicon" stanza:

    Fra that I saw that God was gane,
    And I in langour left allane,
        And sair tormentit to:
    Sum tyme I sicht quhill I was sad,
    Sum tyme I musit and maist gane mad,
        I wist not quhat to do:
    Sum tyme I ravit halfe in a rage,
        As ane into dispaire:
    To be opprest with sic ane page
        Lord gif my heart was saire:
            Like Dido, Cupido
                I widill and I warye:
            Quha reft me, and left me,
                In sik a feirie-farye.

As faur as readin gaes, it's better ti ignore the spellins
an read it in yer ain accent. The fact that the rhymes
vernear aye wirks better in a modern accent isna because
Montgomerie's Scots wis soondit juist like oor ain, but
that the verses haes been Anglicised ti some extent bi
aerly editors.

H. Harvey Wood's jottins is brief an ti the pynt, an weel
worth haein a read o afore ye start on the poem.

A'v set the "yoch" character ti kythe as a "z" for the nou,
juist till unicode technology wins til a'body! Sae "z" in
this text should normally be read as a "y" or whiles "g",
conform ti the context.

[English]

Alexander Montgomerie's classic Scots poem "The Cherrie and
the Slae" is now available on ScotsteXt, accompanied by some
additional poems of Montgomerie's, and excellent notes and a
biography of "Sandirs" himself by H. Harvey Wood, the editor
of the 1937 edition of the poem. It's a very "heavy" read if
you want to get into all the ins and outs of the discourse,
but there's a lot to be gained from the study of the poem by
those with an interest in Scots: the use o proverbs and other
such apothegms in Scots discourse, the classical allusions,
the enlightening use of Scots grammar, and of course, the
continual repetition of the beautiful "Helicon" stanza.

The text has been somewhat Anglicised by early editors,
although Scots speakers should have no trouble discerning
a workable modern pronunciation by ignoring the actual
spellings: the rhymes actually work better this way.

H. Harvey Wood's notes are brief and to the point, and well
worth reading before tackling the poem itself.

I've set the "yogh" character to appear as "z", until such a
time as unicode technology becomes widespread! Thus, "z" in
this text should normally be read as a "y", or sometimes "g"
- it's easy enough to discern from the context, I think.

Sanders Fleemin
http://scotstext.org
A dinna dout him, for he says that he
On nae accoont wad ever tell a lee.
                          - C.W.Wade,
                    'The Adventures o McNab'

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