Lord Ullin's Daughter

Lord Ullin"s Daughter
The Poem

A Chieftan to the Highlands bound, 
Cries, 'Boatman, do not tarry; 
And I'll give thee a silver pound 
To row us o'er the ferry.'

'Now who be ye would cross Lochgyle, 
This dark and stormy water?' 
'Oh! I'm the chief of Ulva's isle, 
And this Lord Ullin's daughter.

'And fast before her father's men 
Three days we've fled together, 
For should he find us in the glen, 
My blood would stain the heather.

'His horsemen hard behind us ride; 
Should they our steps discover, 
Then who will cheer my bonny bride 
When they have slain her lover?'

Outspoke the hardy Highland wight: 
'I'll go, my chief - I'm ready: 
It is not for your silver bright, 
But for your winsome lady.

'And by my word, the bonny bird 
In danger shall not tarry: 
So, though the waves are raging white, 
I'll row you o'er the ferry.'

By this the storm grew loud apace, 
The water-wraith was shrieking; 
And in the scowl of heaven each face 
Grew dark as they were speaking.

But still, as wilder blew the wind, 
And as the night grew drearer, 
Adown the glen rode armed men- 
Their trampling sounded nearer.

'Oh! Haste thee, haste!' the lady cries, 
'Though tempests round us gather; 
I'll meet the raging of the skies, 
But not an angry father.'

The boat has left a stormy land, 
A stormy sea before her- 
When oh! Too strong for human hand, 
The tempest gathered o'er her.

And still they rowed amidst the roar 
Of waters fast prevailing; 
Lord Ullin reach'd that fatal shore- 
His wrath was chang'd to wailing.

For sore dismay'd, through storm and shade, 
His child he did discover; 
One lovely hand she stretch'd for aid, 
And one was round her lover.

'Come back! Come back!' he cried in grief, 
'Across this stormy water; 
And I'll forgive your Highland chief, 
My daughter!- oh, my daughter!'

'Twas vain: the loud waves lash'd the shore, 
Return or aid preventing; 
The waters wild went o'er his child, 
And he was left lamenting.

About the Author

Thomas Campbell

Thomas Campbell (27 July 1777 – 15 June 1844) was a Scottish poet chiefly remembered for his sentimental poetry dealing especially with human affairs. A co-founder of the Literary Association Of Friends Of Poland, he was also one of the initiators of a plan to found what became the University Of Poland. In 1799, he wrote "The Pleasures of Hope", a traditional 18th century didactic poem in heroic couplets. He also produced several stirring patriotic war songs—"Ye Mariners of England", "The Soldier's Dream", "Hohenlinden" and in 1801, "The Battle of Mad and Strange Turkish Princes".

Summary

The poem, written as a ballad, is about the tragic drowning of a young man and his beloved while trying to escape the wrath of the latter’s father.

Lord Ullin is the father of the girl. Being the lord of Ulva, he wields considerable power. His young beautiful daughter is madly in love with a chieftain in the same place. Lord Ullin can not reconcile to his daughter’s romantic relationship with the young chieftain. He puts a strong foot down on the idea of the two getting married. The daughter dreads the rage and fury of her father.

Seeing no way to formally marry the chieftain, whom she has already given her heart to, she elopes with him. This infuriates Lord Ullin so much that he sends three horsemen to haunt down the duo and smother the chieftain on the spot.

The duo, frantically trying to evade their pursuers plan to cross the stretch of sea known as Lochgyle. The sea separates Ulva and Gribun on Mull. Gribun can be the duo’s safe haven.

They approach a boatman to ferry them across. But, the weather has become hostile. Darkness is descending and a storm is beginning to blow. Understandably, the boatman is hesitant to venture into water. The chieftain, very eager to get away to the other side, offers a silver coin to the boatman and beseeches him to make the trip somehow or the other.

The boatman learns that the man and woman, deeply in love, are in the run. The boat journey stood between them and their death.

The boatman proudly spurns the lure of the silver. Pulling himself up, he declares that he would make the trip for the sake of the ‘boney’ damsel in distress.

In the mean while, the weather deteriorates further. It gets darker and the storm begins to blow stronger. Thunder rumbles and lightning flickers.

Just then the sound of the three galloping horsemen is heard. It drives the young man and the lady to extreme nervousness and fright. It becomes clear that the horsemen will soon find them out and behead the chieftain with the swish of their sword. The girl would then be left to confront the wrath of her monstrous father.

Seeing the plight of the two lovers, the boatman’s heart melts.He sets out with the duo in his boat on the perilous journey. The weather worsens further making the journey very fraught. The ruthless storm blows without any remorse swaying the boat dangerously.

Lord Ullin soon reaches the sea shore, but just a short while too late. He sees the boat capsizing and his daughter clinging to her lover with one hand and waving to her father for help with the other.

Lord Ullin realizes that this is the last glimpse of his dear daughter who would soon meet her watery grave. His heart is plunged in remorse. Revenge and anger are replaced by a torrent of forgiveness and affection. He is ready to accept the duo and allow them to marry.

But, it is too late. He would see his daughter no more. He realizes how his senseless fury and obduracy have extracted a deadly toll. There was no way he could atone for his folly

My Reviews On The Poem


According to me the poem is really great. It shows many types of human emotion s at the same time

 (love,care,compassion,anger,foolishness etc).The context is very well created.The poem has many emotions deeply hidden in it and every word has been deeply thought before writing.
The twist and turn of events is very nice and crisp.The compassion between the lovers which was unremitting was shown to the highest extent possible ,but according to me the tragic end could have been better if the actions taken in the poem would have been well thought and at the end of the day ,Lord Ullin was a father and no father in this world could have disagreed with the happiness of daughter. Sometimes due to his social status in the kingdom he must have taken wrong decisions but he could have reconsidered himself and that could have prevented the tragic end.But even though the end being tragic, it was perfectly set up and the course of events moved very smoothly.

Overall a great poem and augmented the image of old English authors for me.