dramaticmonologue, in which a famous Scottish hero, Robert Bruce, addresses his troops before the 1314 Battle of Bannockburn, which the Scots won.

In the first stanza, Bruce offers his troops a choice between a "gory bed" or "victorie" against the English. "Gory bed" uses imagery that helps us imagine how bloody the battle is likely to be. "Gory bed" is also a metaphor, likening death to sleeping in a bloody bed.

The second stanza uses antithesis, the juxtaposition of opposites: Bruce presents his soldiers with a choice between freedom or "Chains and Slaverie."

In the third stanza, Bruce asks a series of rhetorical questions—questions that really have only one answer—saying ("Wha" means who):

Wha will be a traitor knave? / Wha will fill a coward's grave? / Wha sae base as be a slave?

The repeated "Wha" at the beginning of each line in stanza three is an example of anaphora, the repetition of the same word or words to start a phrase: anaphora creates a sense of litany.

The fourth and fifth stanza repeat the call to find freedom through following Bruce into battle. Scott uses alliteration, for example in the repeated "f" and "s" sounds in stanza 4, to create an added sense of rhythm.

The sixth stanza is an emotional final call to freedom, ending with:

Let us do or dee [die]

The poem reflects Romanticism's emphasis on emotion, as the poem is meant to stir deep feelings in the reader. It also is Romantic in its nationalistic fervor and siding with the underdog, in this case the oppressed Scots, who had for many years been under the heel of the English.

Elements of “Scots Wha Hae” that could be addressed in a detailed analysis include formal elements, literary devices, and historical context. This poem or song by is connected to author Robert Burns’s Scottish identity. The speaker, the historical hero Robert Bruce, uses the monologue form to express pro-Scottish, patriotic feelings and urge action against the English. The monologue is appropriate for a speech presented to an assembled crowd—Bruce’s warriors—and the language evokes a sense of injustice and the urgency of action.

Each of the six stanzas has four lines, with an aaab cccb rhyme scheme. The speaker begins with direct address, or apostrophe, in calling upon “Scots.” He also employs hyperbole, extreme exaggeration, in suggesting only two stark alternatives: victory or death. Throughout, the poem uses anaphora, the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive sentences or lines, such as with Scots, now, see, and freedom.

The third stanza and line 1 of stanza 4 change the direct address from statements to questions. The speaker draws the audience into their vision by asking “wha,” meaning “who,” will take particular actions. The extremely negative language of the first questions makes obvious that the intended answers are “no”; the diction includes strong words such as traitor and coward.

Alliteration, the repetition of initial consonants, tends to emphasize the phrases that include those words. Examples include the initial s, d, and f sounds in “sons in servile chains,” “drain our dearest veins,” and “fall in every foe” respectively.