Chapter 9- Lord Ullin's Daughter

"His horsemen hard behind us ride;

Should they our steps discover,

Then who will cheer my bonny bride

When they have slain her lover?"

Why would the lover be slain?

"His horsemen hard behind us ride;

Should they our steps discover,

Then who will cheer my bonny bride

When they have slain her lover?"

Explain - 'cheer my bonny bride'.

 In pairs, argue in favour of or against the topic "Lord Ullin's daughter was right in

 Imagine that you are Lord Ullin. You bemoan and lament the tragic loss of your lovely daughter and curse yourself for having opposed her alliance with the chieftain. Express your feelings of pain and anguish in a letter to your friend.

Imagine you are one of the chiefs of the cavalry riding behind Lord Ullin. You and

your men ride for three days at the end of which you reach the shore. Narrate your

experience as you witnessed a father lamenting the loss of his child, in the form

of a diary entry.

What is the rhyme scheme of the poem?

You are already familiar with the poetic device "alliteration". The poet makes extensive use of the same throughout the poem. Pick out as many examples of alliteration as you can.

Example: fast-father's; horsemen-hard

"One lovely hand she stretch'd for aid." Do you think Lord Ullin's daughter wanted to reach out to her father? (Stanza 12) If yes, why?

Why does Lord Ullin's wrath change into wailing on seeing his daughter?

“Lord Ullin reached that fatal shore” just as his daughter left it. Why is the shore called fatal?(Stanza 11)

In Stanza 10, the poet says -

The boat has left a stormy land,

A stormy sea before, her, --

The lady faces a dilemma here. What is it? What choice does she finally make?

In Stanza 10, the poet says -

The boat has left a stormy land,

A stormy sea before, her, --

In both these lines, the word "stormy" assumes different connotations. What are they?

 The poet uses words like 'adown', 'rode' which contain harsh consonants. Why do you think the poet has done this?

"The water-wraith was shrieking". Is the symbolism in this line a premonition of what happens at the end? Give reasons for your answer. (Stanza 7)

"His horsemen hard behind us ride;

Should they our steps discover,

Then who will cheer my bonny bride

When they have slain her lover?"

Who is 'his' in line 1? Who does 'us' refer to?

“Imagery” refers to something that can be perceived through more than one of the senses. It uses figurative language to help form mental pictures. Campbell used vivid, diverse and powerful imagery to personify the menacing face of nature (for e.g. sea, sky, wind, land). Pick out expressions that convey the images of anger in the following stanzas:

Give two characteristics of the boatman who ferries the couple across the sea.

 Why does Lord Ullin's daughter defy her father and elope with her lover?

In pairs copy and complete the summary of the poem with suitable words/expressions:-

A Scottish Chieftain and his beloved were (a) _____________from her wrathful father. As they reached the shores, the (b) ____________ told a boatman to (c) ____________ them across Lochgyle. He asked him to do it fast because if (d) ______________found them, they would kill him. The boatman (e) ________________to take them not for the

(f) _____________that the chieftain offered but for his (g) ____________. By this time, the storm had (h) _____________and a wild wind had started blowing. The sound of

(i) _______________could be heard close at hand. The lady urged the boatman

(j) _____________as she did not want to face an angry father.

Their boat left the (k) ______________and as it got caught in the stormy sea, Lord Ullin reached the deadly (l)_____________. His anger changed to wailing when he saw his daughter (m) ______________. He asked her to return back. But it was (n) __________ as the stormy sea claimed his daughter and her lover.

The shore of Lochgyle has been referred to as 'fatal shore!' The poetic device used here

is ________________.

(i) metaphor

(ii) simile

(iii) transferred epithet

(iv) onomatopoeia

The mood changes in the poem. It transforms from _________.

(i) happiness to fear

(ii) anxiety to grief

(iii) fear to happiness

(iv) love to pain

The boatman agrees to ferry them across because_________.

(i) he has fallen in love with Lord Ullin's daughter

(ii) he wants to avenge Lord Ullin

(iii) he has lost his love

(iv) he is sorry for the childlike innocence of the lady

Lord Ullin's daughter and her lover are trying to_____________.

(i) escape the wrath of her father

(ii) settle in a distant land

(iii) challenge the storm in the lake

(iv) trying to prove their love for each other