Ed de Moel

Child Ballads - Brief Description by George Lyman Kittredge

82. The Bonny Birdy

Jamieson, in printing this ballad, gave the husband the name Lord Randal, made many changes, and introduced several stanzas, "to fill up chasms." But the chasms, such as they are, are easily leapt by the imagination, and Jamieson's interpolations are mere bridges of carpenter's work. The admirably effective burden is taken into the story at stanza 11.

The main part of the action is the same as in 'Little Musgrave' (No. 81). The superior lyrical quality of the Scottish ballad makes up for its inferiority as a story.

This page most recently updated on 09-Dec-2010, 17:04:27.
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