Appearance
Excerpt
Excerpt from The Moon Endureth: Tales and Fancies, by John Buchan
FROM THE PENTLANDS LOOKING NORTH AND SOUTH
Around my feet the clouds are drawn
In the cold mystery of the dawn;
No breezes cheer, no guests intrude
My mossy, mist-clad solitude;
When sudden down the steeps of sky
Flames a long, lightening wind. On high
The steel-blue arch shines clear, and far,
In the low lands where cattle are,
Towns smoke. And swift, a haze, a gleam,--
The Firth lies like a frozen stream,
Reddening with morn. Tall spires of ships,
Like thorns about the harbour's lips,
Now shake faint canvas, now, asleep,
Their salt, uneasy slumbers keep;
While golden-grey, o'er kirk and wall,
Day wakes in the ancient capital.
Before me lie the lists of strife,
The caravanserai of life,
Whence from the gates the merchants go
On the world's highways; to and fro
Sail laiden ships; and in the street
The lone foot-traveller shakes his feet,
And in some corner by the fire
Tells the old tale of heart's desire.
Thither from alien seas and skies
Comes the far-questioned merchandise:--
Wrought silks of Broussa, Mocha's ware
Brown-tinted, fragrant, and the rare
Thin perfumes that the rose's breath
Has sought, immortal in her death:
Gold, gems, and spice, and haply still
The red rough largess of the hill
Which takes the sun and bears the vines
Among the haunted Apennines.
And he who treads the cobbled street
To-day in the cold North may meet,
Come month, come year, the dusky East,
And share the Caliph's secret feast;
Or in the toil of wind and sun
Bear pilgrim-staff, forlorn, fordone,
Till o'er the steppe, athwart the sand
Gleam the far gates of Samarkand.
The ringing quay, the weathered face
Fair skies, dusk hands, the ocean race
The palm-girt isle, the frosty shore,
Gales and hot suns the wide world o'er
Grey North, red South, and burnished West
The goals of the old tireless quest,
Leap in the smoke, immortal, free,
Where shines yon morning fringe of sea
I turn, and lo! the moorlands high
Lie still and frigid to the sky.
The film of morn is silver-grey
On the young heather, and away,
Dim, distant, set in ribs of hill,
Green glens are shining, stream and mill,
Clachan and kirk and garden-ground,
All silent in the hush profound
Which haunts alone the hills' recess,
The antique home of quietness.
Nor to the folk can piper play
The tune of "Hills and Far Away,"
For they are with them. Morn can fire
No peaks of weary heart's desire,
Nor the red sunset flame behind
Some ancient ridge of longing mind.
For Arcady is here, around,
In lilt of stream, in the clear sound
Of lark and moorbird, in the bold
Gay glamour of the evening gold,
And so the wheel of seasons moves
To kirk and market, to mild loves
And modest hates, and still the sight
Of brown kind faces, and when night
Draws dark around with age and fear
Theirs is the simple hope to cheer.--
A land of peace where lost romance
And ghostly shine of helm and lance
Still dwell by castled scarp and lea,
And the last homes of chivalry,
And the good fairy folk, my dear,
Who speak for cunning souls to hear,
In crook of glen and bower of hill
Sing of the Happy Ages still.
Explanation
Detailed Explanation of "From the Pentlands Looking North and South" by John Buchan
Context & Background
John Buchan (1875–1940) was a Scottish novelist, historian, and politician, best known for adventure thrillers like The Thirty-Nine Steps. The Moon Endureth: Tales and Fancies (1912) is a lesser-known collection of poems and short stories that blend romanticism, adventure, and a deep appreciation for Scotland’s landscapes and folklore. "From the Pentlands Looking North and South" is a lyrical poem that contrasts the bustling, cosmopolitan world of trade and travel with the timeless, pastoral tranquility of the Scottish Highlands.
The Pentland Hills, a range near Edinburgh, serve as a literal and symbolic vantage point—looking north toward the wild, mythic Highlands and south toward the urban and maritime world of commerce. The poem explores themes of wanderlust vs. rootedness, the allure of adventure vs. the peace of home, and the tension between the eternal and the transient.
Themes & Analysis of the Text
1. Contrast Between the Cosmopolitan and the Pastoral
The poem is structured around a dichotomy—the speaker stands on the Pentlands, observing two worlds:
The "South" (Lowlands & Urban Life):
- "Towns smoke... the Firth lies like a frozen stream" → Industrial and maritime activity.
- "The caravanserai of life" (a Persian term for a resting place for travelers) → A metaphor for the city as a hub of trade, stories, and human movement.
- "Wrought silks of Broussa, Mocha’s ware" → Exotic goods from the East, symbolizing global commerce and adventure.
- "The lone foot-traveller shakes his feet / And in some corner by the fire / Tells the old tale of heart’s desire" → The city as a place of stories, longing, and transient encounters.
The South represents motion, ambition, and the "tireless quest"—a world where people chase wealth, glory, and distant lands ("the far gates of Samarkand").
The "North" (Highlands & Rural Life):
- "The moorlands high / Lie still and frigid to the sky" → A landscape of silence, cold beauty, and permanence.
- "Clachan and kirk and garden-ground" → Small villages, churches, and farms—symbols of community, tradition, and simplicity.
- "Arcady is here, around" → Arcadia, the mythical pastoral paradise, is not a distant dream but present in Scotland’s hills.
- "The good fairy folk... / Sing of the Happy Ages still" → Folklore and myth persist in the Highlands, untouched by time.
The North embodies stillness, continuity, and a deeper, almost spiritual connection to the land.
2. The Allure of Adventure vs. the Comfort of Home
The poem romanticizes both worlds but ultimately privileges the North as the true source of meaning.
The Call of the Exotic:
- "The red rough largess of the hill / Which takes the sun and bears the vines / Among the haunted Apennines" → The Mediterranean and the East are painted as lands of sensory richness (spices, perfumes, gold) and mystery (haunted hills, Caliph’s feasts).
- "Till o’er the steppe, athwart the sand / Gleam the far gates of Samarkand" → Samarkand, a legendary Silk Road city, symbolizes the ultimate destination of the wanderer’s dream.
Yet, these visions are fleeting, almost illusory—they exist in the "smoke" of the city, not in reality.
The Reality of Home:
- "For Arcady is here, around" → The speaker rejects the idea that fulfillment lies elsewhere.
- "The lilt of stream, the clear sound / Of lark and moorbird" → Nature’s music is more real and enduring than the "old tale of heart’s desire" told by travelers.
- "A land of peace where lost romance / And ghostly shine of helm and lance / Still dwell by castled scarp and lea" → Scotland itself is a living museum of chivalry and myth, making external quests unnecessary.
3. Time & Eternity
- The South is tied to human time—commerce, travel, and the ephemeral ("the smoke, immortal, free"—even its immortality is intangible).
- The North exists in mythic time—"the Happy Ages still" suggests a timelessness where the past is always present.
The final lines reinforce this:
"And so the wheel of seasons moves / To kirk and market, to mild loves / And modest hates..." → Life in the North follows natural cycles, not the restless pursuit of the South.
Literary Devices & Style
Imagery & Sensory Language
- Visual: "steel-blue arch," "frozen stream," "golden-grey o’er kirk and wall"
- Tactile: "salt, uneasy slumbers" (ships), "brown kind faces"
- Auditory: "lilt of stream," "clear sound of lark and moorbird"
- Olfactory: "Thin perfumes that the rose’s breath / Has sought, immortal in her death"
Buchan paints two distinct worlds—one vibrant and chaotic, the other soft and eternal.
Metaphor & Symbolism
- "The caravanserai of life" → Life as a resting place for travelers, emphasizing transience.
- "The lists of strife" → The city as a battleground of ambition (medieval tournament imagery).
- "Arcady" → The Highlands as the realized ideal of pastoral perfection.
Juxtaposition & Contrast
- Motion vs. Stillness: "swift, a haze, a gleam" (South) vs. "Lie still and frigid to the sky" (North).
- Exotic vs. Familiar: "dusk hands, the ocean race" vs. "brown kind faces".
- Myth vs. Reality: "ghostly shine of helm and lance" (romanticized past) vs. "kirk and market" (everyday life).
Personification & Mythic Tone
- "Day wakes in the ancient capital" → Dawn as a living presence.
- "The good fairy folk... / Sing of the Happy Ages still" → The land itself speaks through folklore.
Rhythm & Structure
- The poem is written in loose iambic meter, giving it a lyrical, almost song-like quality.
- The shift in tone (from bustling to serene) mirrors the speaker’s turn from South to North.
Significance & Interpretation
Romantic Nationalism
- Buchan, a Scot, elevates the Highlands as a spiritual homeland, contrasting it with the materialism of urban life.
- The poem reflects early 20th-century anxieties about industrialization and the loss of tradition.
The Wanderer’s Dilemma
- The speaker acknowledges the allure of adventure but chooses rootedness.
- This mirrors Buchan’s own life—he was a global traveler (colonial administrator, soldier, writer) yet deeply connected to Scotland.
The Illusion of the Exotic
- The "distant" (Samarkand, the East) is glamorous but ultimately less real than the immediate beauty of the Pentlands.
- The poem suggests that true wonder lies in seeing the sacred in the ordinary.
Folklore & the Pastoral Ideal
- The mention of "fairy folk" and "chivalry" ties Scotland to a mythic past, reinforcing the idea that some places are inherently magical.
Conclusion: The Poem’s Central Message
"From the Pentlands Looking North and South" is a meditation on belonging. The speaker stands at a crossroads—one path leads to the wide world of commerce, adventure, and fleeting glory, the other to the quiet, enduring beauty of home. While the South dazzles with its promise of the exotic, the North offers something deeper: a sense of permanence, myth, and unspoken peace.
Ultimately, the poem celebrates the Scottish landscape not just as a place, but as a state of mind—one where Arcady is not a distant dream but a present reality, where "the Happy Ages still" sing in the wind. The true romance, Buchan suggests, is not in chasing the horizon but in recognizing the magic already underfoot.
Final Thought: In an era of globalization, Buchan’s poem remains relevant—it asks whether fulfillment comes from seeking or from seeing, from movement or from stillness. The Pentlands, in this sense, are not just hills but a metaphor for the soul’s choice between rest and restlessness.