The Ghaist's Warning
The Ghaist's Warning is a Scottish ballad based on Robert Jamieson's translation of the Danish ballad Svend Dyring (DgF 89; TSB A 68). It was published by Sir Walter Scott in the notes to The Lady of the Lake in 1810.[1] Scott describes the ballad as being written not in the common language of the time, but in the "old Scottish idiom" such as to produce a more literal translation.[2]
The ballad describes a group of children who are abused by their evil stepmother after the death of their biological mother; the dead mother then rises from the grave to warn against their mistreatment.[1]
The Saturday Review praised Svend Dyring, arguing that the ballad, "with its combination of intense pathos and high imaginative power, stands alone, we are inclined to think, in the ballad-literature of Europe."[3]
In literature
[edit]In Emily Brontë's 1847 novel Wuthering Heights, Ellen (Nelly) Dean sings a portion of the ballad to Hareton Earnshaw, though the lyrics are somewhat different from those published by Scott.[1] Henry Wadsworth Longfellow published a short story based on the ballad as The Spirit Mother.[4]
Recordings
[edit]A version of the ballad has been recorded by Danish harpist Niss Stricker.[5]
Lyrics
[edit]Translation published by Sir Walter Scott | Danish (as sung by Niss Stricker) | |
---|---|---|
Lyrics |
Child Dyring has ridden him up under öe, |
Svend Dyring han red sig op under ø |
References
[edit]- ^ a b c Brontë, Emily (14 December 2001). "Appendix B". In Heywood, Christopher (ed.). Wuthering Heights. Signet Classic. p. 450. ISBN 9781551112473. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
- ^ Scott, Walter (1849). The Lady of the Lake. Francis. p. 276. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
the ghaist's warning.
- ^ "Danish Ballads". Reviews. The Saturday Review of politics, literature, science, and art. Vol. 6, no. 148. 28 August 1858. p. 215. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
- ^ Longfellow, Henry (1902). Bellow, Molly (ed.). Tales from Longfellow. H.M. Caldwell Company. pp. 17–22. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
- ^ a b Stricker, Niss. "Niss Stricker - Svend Dyring". YouTube. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
- ^ Scott, Walter (1849). The Lady of the Lake. Francis. pp. 284-286. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
the ghaist's warning.