Did you learn the whole poem?
An do dh'ionnsaich sibh an dàn gu lèir?
Let's have a look at this discussion. By the end of this section, you will have learned some valuable phrases that you can use in lots of different conversations.
Sgrìobh sinne dàin saor-rannaidheachd san sgoil. Cha robh tuigse ro mhath aig a' ghinealach againn air meatrachd, samhlachas no sruth-fhacal.
We wrote free verse poems at school. Our generation did not have a very good understanding of metre, symbolism or alliteration.
Fhuair sinn oideachadh ceart anns na seann bhàird: Donnchadh Bàn—Donnchadh Bàn Mac an t-Saoir—bàrd aig nach robh comas sgrìobhaidh no leughaidh ach aig an robh comasan dealbhachaidh gun choimeas ann am bàrdachd.
We were properly educated in the old poets: Donnchadh Bàn—Donnchadh Bàn McIntyre—a poet who could not write or read but had compositional abilities which were unparalleled in poetry.
Och nuair a bha clann eile an Alba ag ionnsachadh Burns, bha sinn ag ionnsachadh leithid An t-urram thar gach beinn Aig Beinn Dòbhrain; De na chunnaic mi fon ghrèin, 'S i bu bhòidhche leam.
Och, when other children in Scotland were learning Burns, we were learning things like The honour over every mountain has Beinn Dorain; Of all that I have seen under the sun, It/She is the most beautiful to me.
Tha 550 loidhne ann am 'Moladh Beinn Dòbhrain'. An do dh'ionnsaich sibh an dàn gu lèir?
There are 550 lines in Moladh Beinn Dòbhrain (In Praise of Beinn Dorain). Did you learn the whole poem?
A bheil thu glic? Cha do dh'ionnsaich. Ach abair bàrdachd nàdair dhealbhach.
Are you wise [are you kidding/daft?] We did not learn [it]. But what descriptive nature poetry.
'S tu fhèin a thuirt e. Ach a bheil fhios agad cò a bha a' sgrìobhadh bàrdachd nàdair roimhe sin?
You said it [yourself]. But do you know who was writing nature poetry before that?
Tha mi cinnteach gu bheil làn-fhios agad. Cò bh' ann, ma-thà?
I am sure you do [know very well]. Who was it, then?
Uill, ged a tha e aithnichte mar bhàrd ar-a-mach nan Seumasach ann an 1745 thathas ag ràdh gur e Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair a sgrìobh bàrdachd nàdair an toiseach: A' dol thar Allt an t-Siùcair, Am madainn chùbhraidh Chèit, Is paidirean geal dlùth-chneap, Den driùchd ghorm air an fheur.
Well, although he is known as the poet of the Jacobite rebellion in 1745, it is said that Alasdair Mac Maighistir Alasdair was the first to write nature poetry: When passing over the Sugar Burn, One fragrant morning in May, with white bracelet and tiny beads of blue dew on the grass.
Sin thu fhèin! Ach b‘ e bàrd poilitigeach a bh' ann, nach b' e?
Well done! But he was a political poet, wasn't he?
B' e, am measg iomadh gnè eile agus alt aige le fuaim(neachadh) is ìomhaigheachd. Bha buaidh aig a' bhàrdachd aige air bàird eile chun an latha an-diugh.
He was, among many other genres, with a talent for sound and imagery. His poetry has influenced other poets to this day.
Agus a' bruidhinn air bàird eile, an tug sinn iomradh air (bana-)bhàrd a' chiad ar-a-mach Sheumasaich ann an 1715, Sìleas na Ceapaich?
And speaking of other poets, did we mention the (female) poet of the first Jacobite rebellion in 1715, Sìleas na Ceapaich?
Cha tug, agus feumaidh sinn facal no dhà a ràdh mu Rob Donn, Rob Donn MacAoidh is Uilleam Ros cuideachd.
We didn't, and we must have a word or two about Rob Donn, Rob Donn Mackay and William Ross as well.