Student Question
Can you paraphrase the poem "Lord Randall"?
Quick answer:
"Lord Randall" is a Scottish border ballad where Lord Randall returns home tired and repeatedly tells his mother he wants to lie down. Through their conversation, it is revealed he was poisoned by his "true-love" after eating fried eels, as his hawks and hounds died from the leftovers. As he prepares for his death, he bequeaths his possessions to his family, leaving his "true-love" only "hell and fire."
I would love to have answered both your questions; unfortunately, you are only allowed one question per post, so please feel free to re-post the "Edward" question separately.
"Lord Randall" is what is known as a "border ballad," referring to the border between England and Scotland. This is a Scottish ballad written in a Scottish dialect, so it could be called Anglo-Scottish. The ballad is an early song form which follows a specific pattern of rhythm, rhymes, and lines. This anonymous folk ballad was published in the early 1800s by Sir Walter Scott. The ballad has ten short stanzas and tells the story of poor Lord Randall.
Stanza one- Lord Randall comes home and his mother asks where he has been. He says he has been at the Greenwood, but he is tired from hunting and wants to lie down.
Stanza two - His mother asks who he met at the Greenwood, and he tells her
he met with his "true-love," but he is tired from hunting and wants to lie
down.
Stanza three - Lord Randall's mother asks what his girlfriend gave him to eat
at the Greenwood. He tells her his girlfriend gave him fried eels, but he
is tired from hunting and wants to lie down.
Stanza four - His mother asks who got his leftovers. He tells her he gave the
leftovers to his hawks and his hounds, but he is tired form hunting and
wants to lie down.
Stanza five - Lord Randall's mother asks what happened to his hawks and his
hounds, and he says,
“They stretched their legs out an died."
Then, of course, he says he is tired form hunting and wants to lie
down.
Stanza six - His mother says she is afraid her son has been poisoned, and he
agrees with her, adding that he is sick at heart and wants to lie down.
Stanza seven - His mother wants to know what her son will leave to her,
presumably when he dies. He tells her he is leaving her “Four and twenty
milk kye," but he is sick at heart and wants to lie down.
Stanza eight - His mother asks the same question about his sister, and he says
he is leaving her his gold and silver, but he is sick at heart and wants to lie
down.
Stanza nine - Same thing here, and Lord Randall is going to leave his
brother his house and lands. He is still sick at heart and he still wants to
lie down.
Stanza ten reads this way:
“What d’ ye leave to your true-love, Lord Randal, my son?
What d’ ye leave to your true-love, my handsome young man?”
“I leave her hell and fire; mother, mak my bed soon,
For I’m sick at the heart, and I fain wad lie down.”
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