Class IX: Lord Ullin's Daughter

Concept Map:

About the poem:

“Lord Ullin’s Daughter” is a ballad which tells the tragic story of the daughter of Lord Ullin and her lover who die a very sorrowful death when chased by her father and his men. It begins with a sad note by initiating the elopement of two young lovers. Finally they reached to a place of safety as they approached to boatman and requested him to cross the river. Surprisingly the boatman also agree to do just because of the young and fair lady .In the end both the lovers face the dare consequences of a relationship which was not approved by the parents.

About the poet:

Thomas Campbell (27 July 1777 – 15 June 1844) was a Scottish poet chiefly remembered for his sentimental poetry dealing especially with human affairs. He spent the holidays as a tutor in the Western Highlands and his poems Glenara and the Ballad of Lord Ullin's Daughter were written during this time while visiting the Isle of Mull. He visited the Isle of Mull in 1795.  Located in the Hebrides Islands, it lies parallel to the Isle of Ulva mentioned in Campbell's poem "Lord Ullin's Daughter," published in 1804. Scotland's landscape is a combination of woods, moors, verdant valleys, and beautiful lakes. Lochgyle is an actual lake separating the two isles. 

Summary of the poem:

In the middle of the night, the chief of Ulva’s isle, accompanied with his bonny bird lady, Lord Ullin’s daughter is in a hurry to cross the ferry. He asks the boatman to cross him and his lover despite the water, the stormy sea, the wind and the wild night.   

The chief says that Lord Ullin does not agree with their love, the love of the chief and Lord Ullin’s daughter. So he takes her away. Lord Ullin chases the chief with the help from many equestrians and armed too. Listening to the story, the boatman agrees to cross them over. Not for money, the boatman says. It is because the beauty and the charm of the of Lord Ullin’s daughter that the boatman would cross them over.

Now Lord Ullin and his men are near, they have already on their way. Lord Ullin’s daughter now urges the boatman to be hurry even though they are going through the storm. She does not want to be chased and captured by his angry father.
Reaching the shore, Lord Ullin’s anger turns to regret as he watches her daughter and her lover go to the raging storm. Lord Ullin will forgive her daughter and the chief if they comeback. Lord Ullin’s daughter prefers the stormy sea rather than facing her angry father. Then there he was, Lord Ullin, cannot do anything. Sadly, he can only see her daughter on the deadly storm.

Textbook exercise:

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

Answer: Lord Ullin’s daughter knows that her father would not agree to her love relationship with the Chieftain of Ulva as both these clans have enmity between them. But her love for the chieftain is true. So, for the sake of true love, she defies her father and elopes with her lover.

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

Answer: The boatman is not a materialistic person. He gets agree to row the chieftain and his lover over the ferry not for the silver pound but to help them in the trouble time. Also, he is a person mature enough to understand the innocence of Lord Ullin’s daughter.

3. Read the following lines and answer the questions given below:

"His horsemen hard behind us ride;

Should they our steps discover,

Then who will cheer my bonny bride

When they have slain her lover?"

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

Ans: Lord Ullin is ‘his’ in line 1. ‘Us’ refers to the chieftain and Lord Ullin’s daughter.

2. Explain - 'cheer my bonny bride'.

Ans: The chieftain means to say here, that if he would be killed by Lord Ullin’s men, his lover would not be happy. She would be very sad.

3. Why would the lover be slain?

Ans: The lover would be slain because he is in love with the Lord Ullin’s daughter and has dare to elope with her.

4. "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)

Ans: Yes, the symbolism of ‘shrieking water-wraith’ is the premonition of what happens in the end, because in the end, the lovers die in the storm. So, it

5. What does the Chieftain say to the boatman? Why?

Ans: The chieftain tells the boatman not to delay. He also entices him with a silver pound. He entices the boatman because Lord Ullin and his army men have been following them since three days as Lord Ullin’s daughter has eloped with Chieftain of Ulva’s isle.

6. The poet uses words like 'adown', 'rode' which contain harsh consonants. Why do you think the poet has done this? (Stanza 8)

Answer: The purpose of using such (like ‘adown’, ‘rode’)   harsh consonants is to create a tone which describes the harsh nature of Lord Ullin and his horsemen. The poet has used such words to set the tone of fear and death in the poem.

7. In Stanza 10, the poet says -

The boat has left a stormy land,

A stormy sea before her,-----------

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

Answer: The phrase ‘stormy land’ refers to the bank of the river where Lord Ullin has arrived with his horsemen. Thus the word ‘story’ means troublesome situation. On the other hand, the phrase ‘stormy sea’ refers to the actual storm in the sea which is a trouble for the lovers in the boat.

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

Answer: The dilemma the lady (Lord Ullin’s daughter) faces here is what to choose between death with the lover in the stormy or death of the lover by the hands of her father. Finally, she chooses to be with her lover and embraces death.

8.  "Lord Ullin reached that fatal shore" just as his daughter left it. (Stanza 11).

a.    Why is the shore called fatal?

Answer: The shore is called fatal because there lays the end of the lovers.

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

Answer: Lord Ullin was against the love affair between his daughter and the chieftain. So, he wanted to kill the chieftain. But when, in the end, he sees his own daughter goes in the mouth of the death and dies, his wrath changes into wailing.

9. "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?

Answer: Yes, I think that Lord Ullin’s daughter wanted to reach out to her father. Because she was in dilemma in choosing between her father and her lover. She chooses her lover. But, when she sees death in front of her, she tries to see the same love and care of her father which she has been trusting since her birth.