"Robene and Makyne" is a short poem by the 15th-century Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 makar

Makar

A makar is a term from Scottish literature for a poet or bard, often thought of as royal court poet, although the term can be more generally applied. The word functions in a manner similar to the Greek term which means both maker and poet...

 Robert Henryson

Robert Henryson

Robert Henryson was a poet who flourished in Scotland in the period c. 1460–1500. Counted among the Scots makars, he lived in the royal burgh of Dunfermline and is a distinctive voice in the Northern Renaissance at a time when the culture was on a cusp between medieval and renaissance sensibilities...

. It is an early example of Scottish pastourelle

Pastourelle

The pastourelle is a typically Old French lyric form concerning the romance of a shepherdess. In most of the early pastourelles, the poet knight meets a shepherdess who bests him in a wit battle and who displays general coyness. The narrator usually has sexual relations, either consensual or...

written in a form of ballad

Ballad

A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...

 stanza and is almost unique of its kind. Very simple in structure and plot, yet highly compressed, multi-layered and open in possible interpretation, it exemplifies Henryson's ability to combine complexity and restraint. The brevity and balanced structure of the poem creates effects that invite comparisons with music.

Outline

Robene

Robin (name)

Robin was originally a diminutive given name of Robert, derived from the prefix Rob- , and the suffix -in . More recently, it is used as an independent name. The name Robin is uncommon in being a masculine given name, feminine given name, and a surname...

 and Makyne

Malkin

Malkin as a surname may refer to:* Benjamin Heath Malkin , antiquary and author* Chris Malkin , English football player* John Malkin , English football player for Stoke City...

 (also spelt Mawkin) are stock names for peasant

Peasant

A peasant is an agricultural worker who generally tend to be poor and homeless-Etymology:The word is derived from 15th century French païsant meaning one from the pays, or countryside, ultimately from the Latin pagus, or outlying administrative district.- Position in society :Peasants typically...

 characters, a shepherd

Shepherd

A shepherd is a person who tends, feeds or guards flocks of sheep.- Origins :Shepherding is one of the oldest occupations, beginning some 6,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat and especially their wool...

 and a country maiden. Henryson presents the two characters in the sparest of terms and much in the poem has to be inferred. Strictly speaking, nothing in the text verifies precisely who Makyne might be. In the first half of the poem she declares longstanding love for Robene but he is indifferent to her feelings. Minds quickly change and in the closing arc the hopeless declaration is from Robene. This simple dramatic reversal comes at the golden section. Makyne's rejection of Robene is final.

Henryson's writing suggests subtexts around the issue of chastity

Chastity

Chastity refers to the sexual behavior of a man or woman acceptable to the moral standards and guidelines of a culture, civilization, or religion....

, a material issue in the late medieval Church and of possible relevance in the poet's own life. The spareness allows different and perhaps dissonant readings to be simultaneously present, but any "allegorical" implications are present without pretentiousness or loss of authentic feeling and the poem stands as a simple comic creation with a surprisingly wide range of emotion and intriguing tonal

Tone (literature)

Tone is a literary technique that is a part of composition, which encompasses the attitudes toward the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary work. Tone may be formal, informal, intimate, solemn, somber, playful, serious, ironic, guilty, condescending, or many other possible attitudes...

 ambiguity.

The closure, peculiar in its effect, evokes feelings of emptiness and a sense of musical return

Aesthetics of music

Traditionally, the aesthetics of music or musical aesthetics concentrated on the quality and study of the beauty and enjoyment of music. The origin of this philosophic sub-discipline is sometimes attributed to Baumgarten in the 18th century, followed by Kant...

.

Extract

Stanzas 12 and 13 of "Robene and Makyne":

This section from the poem follows the turning point

Solstice

A solstice is an astronomical event that happens twice each year when the Sun's apparent position in the sky, as viewed from Earth, reaches its northernmost or southernmost extremes...

. The first stanza is spoken by Makyne. One of the most striking effects is the apparent emotional dissociation in Robene's response.

"Robene, thow hes hard soung and say

Saying

A saying is something that is said, notable in one respect or another, to be "a pithy expression of wisdom or truth."There are a number of specific types of saying:...

In gestis

Cautionary tale

A cautionary tale is a tale told in folklore, to warn its hearer of a danger. There are three essential parts to a cautionary tale, though they can be introduced in a large variety of ways. First, a taboo or prohibition is stated: some act, location, or thing is said to be dangerous. Then, the...

 and storeis auld,

The man that will nocht quhen he may

Sall haif nocht quhen he wald.

I pray to Jesu every day

Mot eik thair cairis cauld

Apathy (disambiguation)

Apathy is a lack of emotion, motivation, or enthusiasm, deriving from the ancient Greek term Apatheia.Apathy may also refer to:* Apathy , an underground rapper* Stephan Apathy , a Hungarian zoologist...

That first preiss with the to play

Be firth

Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

, forrest or fawld

Pasture

Pasture is land used for grazing. Pasture lands in the narrow sense are enclosed tracts of farmland, grazed by domesticated livestock, such as horses, cattle, sheep or swine. The vegetation of tended pasture, forage, consists mainly of grasses, with an interspersion of legumes and other forbs...

."

"Makyne, the nicht is soft and dry,

The wedder is warme and fair,

And the grene woid rycht neir us by

To walk attour allquhair

Freedom of movement

Freedom of movement, mobility rights or the right to travel is a human right concept that the constitutions of numerous states respect...

;

Thair ma na janglour

Detraction

The dictionary definition of detraction is "discrediting or detracting from someone's reputation ".-Catholic usage:In Roman Catholic theology detraction is the sin of revealing previously unknown faults or sins of another person to a third person; the sin is mortal unless there is little hurt, when...

 us espy,

That is to lufe

Love

Love is an emotion of strong affection and personal attachment. In philosophical context, love is a virtue representing all of human kindness, compassion, and affection. Love is central to many religions, as in the Christian phrase, "God is love" or Agape in the Canonical gospels...

 contrair;

Thairin, Makyne, bath ye and I

Unsene we ma repair."

Appreciation and interpretation

• "Tom Scott on Henryson's Short Works", by the 20th-century Scottish poet and critic Tom Scott
  Tom Scott (poet)
  Tom Scott was a Scottish poet, editor, and prose writer. His writing is closely tied to the New Apocalypse, the New Romantics, and the Scottish Renaissance.- Bibliography :...
  
  (1918–1995)