''Dàin do Eimhir'' () is a sequence of sixty poems written in

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

by Sorley MacLean (Somhairle MacGill-Eain). Considered MacLean's masterpiece, the poems deal with intertwining themes of romantic love, landscape, history, and the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, and are among the most important works ever written in

Scottish Gaelic literature Scottish Gaelic literature refers to literary works composed in the Scottish Gaelic language, which is, like Irish and Manx, a member of the Goidelic branch of Celtic languages. Gaelic literature was also composed in Gàidhealtachd communities ...

. Forty-eight of the poems were published in MacLean's 1943 book ''Dàin do Eimhir agus Dàin Eile'', and thirty-six were included in a 1971 English version translated by Iain Crichton Smith (Iain Mac a' Ghobhainn). MacLean asked his publisher to destroy the other twelve, but eleven survived and were published in 2002 in an annotated edition edited by Christopher Whyte.

Background

Because of his

socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

convictions,

Sorley MacLean Sorley MacLean (; 26 October 1911 – 24 November 1996) was a Scottish Gaelic poet, described by the Scottish Poetry Library as "one of the major Scottish poets of the modern era" because of his "mastery of his chosen medium and his engagement ...

wanted to fight in the

Spanish Republican Army The Spanish Republican Army () was the main branch of the Spanish Republican Armed Forces, Armed Forces of the Second Spanish Republic between 1931 and 1939. It became known as People's Army of the Republic (''Ejército Popular de la República'' ...

during the

, but was prevented by family circumstances. In 1937, MacLean, then working as an English teacher at

Portree High School Portree High School ( Gaelic: ') is a state co-educational comprehensive school in Portree, Isle of Skye in Scotland. , the school enrols 494 pupils and employs 80 teachers and support staff. The school's catchment area draws from 15 primary sch ...

, met and fell in love with Nessa O’Shea, an Irish woman whom he believed to be romantically involved with a friend; MacLean did not approach her and she later married someone else. She inspired the poem ''An Roghainn'' (Dàin do Eimhir XXII) in which the narrator chooses between a love interest and going to fight in Spain. Later, he went to teach on the

Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull or simply Mull ( ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Argyll and Bute. Covering , Mull is the fourth-lar ...

, where the devastation from nineteenth-century clearances—in which many

MacLeans ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

had been evicted—had a profound effect on him. MacLean later said that "I believe Mull had much to do with my poetry: its physical beauty, so different from Skye’s, with the terrible imprint of the clearances on it, made it almost intolerable for a Gael." This period of his life has been described as "an immensely creative anguish", because it led to the writing of the Eimhir cycle and ''An Cuilthionn''. He wrote most of the poetry that would become ''Dàin do Eimhir'' while teaching at

Boroughmuir High School Boroughmuir High School is a non-denominational secondary school in the Fountainbridge area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Buildings The school was founded in 1904, and located at 22–24 Warrender Park Crescent, overlooking Bruntsfield Links in a b ...

in Edinburgh, and in

Hawick Hawick ( ; ; ) is a town in the Scottish Borders council areas of Scotland, council area and counties of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east o ...

between 1939 and 1941.

Publication

Four poems in the Eimhir song cycle (XXIX, IV, XIV and III) were published in a booklet titled ''17 Poems for 6d: in Gaelic, Lowland Scots & English'', containing MacLean's poetry along with that of

Robert Garioch Robert Garioch Sutherland (9 May 1909 – 26 April 1981) was a Scottish poet and translator. His poetry was written almost exclusively in the Scots language, he was a key member in the literary and language revival in the mid-20th century. ...

, in 1940. While MacLean was overseas, serving in the

Royal Corps of Signals The Royal Corps of Signals (often simply known as the Royal Signals – abbreviated to R SIGNALS) is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications an ...

during the

North African Campaign The North African campaign of World War II took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943, fought between the Allies and the Axis Powers. It included campaigns in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts (Western Desert campaign, Desert Wa ...

, he left his poetry with Scottish nationalist and poet Douglas Young, who had promised to help publish it. MacLean asked Young to destroy some of the poems, but Young refused. In November 1943, the poems were published as '. ''Dàin do Eimhir'' was published primarily in Gaelic, but included English prose translations of some poems in a smaller font. Of the sixty poems in the Eimhir cycle, twelve were omitted because MacLean doubted their quality or were left out due to their personal content. The rest were numbered and ordered with Roman numerals. A few of the Eimhir poems were translated into Scots by Young and published the same year in ''Auntran Blads'', along with some of George Campbell Hay (Deòrsa Mac Iain Dheòrsa)'s Gaelic poetry translated into Scots. Although his poetry had a profound impact on the Gaelic-speaking world, it was not until the 1970s and 1980s that MacLean's work became accessible in English translation. In 1970, some of the Eimhir poems were reproduced in an anthology with three other poets, ''Four Points of the Saltire.'' Iain Crichton Smith published thirty-six of the poems in his English translation of ''Dàin do Eimhir'' in 1971. This edition only contained 36 of the poems in the Eimhir sequence, and did not reproduce the Gaelic originals. In 1989, a further compilation of his poetry, ''O Choille gu Bearradh / From Wood to Ridge: Collected Poems in Gaelic and English'' included many of the Eimhir poems and won MacLean lasting critical acclaim. The book was the

Saltire Society The Saltire Society is a membership organisation which aims to promote the understanding of the culture and heritage of Scotland, founded in 1936. The society organises lectures and publishes pamphlets, and presents a series of awards in the fiel ...

Scottish Book of the Year for 1990, and MacLean won the McVitie's Prize for Scottish Writer of the Year. For a 2002 annotated edition, Christopher Whyte located and published all but one of the sixty poems.

Analysis

The Eimhir cycle marked a sharp break in style and substance of Gaelic poetry from earlier eras. While simultaneously introducing

Symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: *Symbol, any object or sign that represents an idea Arts *Artistic symbol, an element of a literary, visual, or other work of art that represents an idea ** Color symbolism, the use of colors within various c ...

into

, MacLean emphasized the struggle between

romantic love Romance or romantic love is a feeling of love for, or a Interpersonal attraction, strong attraction towards another person, and the Courtship, courtship behaviors undertaken by an individual to express those overall feelings and resultant ...

and duty, which was personified in the poet's difficulty in choosing between his love for a female figure, Eimhir, and what he sees as his moral obligation to volunteer for the

International Brigades The International Brigades () were soldiers recruited and organized by the Communist International to assist the Popular Front (Spain), Popular Front government of the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War. The International Bri ...

of the

during the

. In the

Ulster Cycle The Ulster Cycle (), formerly known as the Red Branch Cycle, is a body of medieval Irish heroic legends and sagas of the Ulaid. It is set far in the past, in what is now eastern Ulster and northern Leinster, particularly counties Armagh, Do ...

Irish mythology Irish mythology is the body of myths indigenous to the island of Ireland. It was originally Oral tradition, passed down orally in the Prehistoric Ireland, prehistoric era. In the History of Ireland (795–1169), early medieval era, myths were ...

, Eimhir is "the loveliest woman" in all Ireland and the wife of the legendary warrior and

demigod A demigod is a part-human and part-divine offspring of a deity and a human, or a human or non-human creature that is accorded divine status after death, or someone who has attained the "divine spark" (divine illumination). An immortality, immor ...

Cuchulainn. MacLean said that the Eimhir of his poetry represented two real women in his life, Nessa O'Shea and an unnamed red-haired Scottish woman, but some critics have suggested that she actually represented three women, and, according to Christopher Whyte, there may have been as many as four. MacLean intentionally blurred the different Eimhirs together so that the individual women would not be distinguishable. The book has been the subject of scholarly debate. Attempting to explain why MacLean's earlier poetry has had the greatest influence, Ruaraidh MacThòmais wrote that it is love poetry which is most timeless, while MacLean's Pro-Soviet

political poetry Political poetry brings together politics and poetry. According to "The Politics of Poetry" by David Orr, poetry and politics connect through expression and feeling, although both of them are matters of persuasion. Political poetry connects to pe ...

has not aged as well. According to Maoilios Caimbeul, "There is not, and I doubt there will ever be, a series of love poems" that would have as much influence on Gaelic literature. However, this type of commentary has been criticized as an attempt to depoliticize MacLean's work.

Seamus Heaney Seamus Justin Heaney (13 April 1939 – 30 August 2013) was an Irish Irish poetry, poet, playwright and translator. He received the 1995 Nobel Prize in Literature. Among his best-known works is ''Death of a Naturalist'' (1966), his first m ...

argued that Eimhir was similar to Beatrice in

Dante Dante Alighieri (; most likely baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri; – September 14, 1321), widely known mononymously as Dante, was an Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer, and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called ...

's ''

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' (, ) is an Italian narrative poetry, narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun and completed around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature and one of ...

'', in that Eimhir "resolves at a symbolic level tensions which would otherwise be uncontainable or wasteful". Scottish poet Iain Mac a' Ghobhainn said, "there is a sense in which the Spanish Civil War does not form the background to these poems, but is the protagonist". MacLean's work was innovative and influential because it juxtaposed elements from Gaelic history and tradition with icons from mainstream

European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD 500), the Middle Ages (AD 500–1500), and the modern era (since AD 1500). The first early Eu ...

. He described his poetry as "radiating from Skye and the West Highlands to the whole of Europe". By this juxtaposition, he implicitly asserted the value of the Gaelic literary tradition and the right of the

Gaels The Gaels ( ; ; ; ) are an Insular Celts, Insular Celtic ethnolinguistic group native to Ireland, Scotland, and the Isle of Man. They are associated with the Goidelic languages, Gaelic languages: a branch of the Celtic languages comprising ...

to participate as equals in the broader cultural landscape. According to Maoilios Caimbeul, MacLean's poetry is on the border between two worlds, but also the connection between them—the old, traditional Gaelic society and the wider, modern 20th century world. Caimbeul writes that the poems "capture the uncertainty, pain, yearning, and the search for stability that are at the heart of Modernism". Summarizing the impact of the book, Professor Dòmhnall MacAmhlaigh wrote, "After the publication of this book Gaelic poetry could never be the same again."

Notes

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite magazine , last1=Haldane , first1=Sean , title=A Dying Tongue: Reading Sorley MacLean , journal=The Dark Horse Magazine , issue=Summer 2007 , url=http://www.thedarkhorsemagazine.com/Resources/HaldaneOnMacLean.pdf {{cite journal , last1=Nicholson , first1=Colin , title=Poetry of Displacement: Sorley MacLean and his Writing , journal=Studies in Scottish Literature , date=1 January 1987 , volume=22 , issue=1 , url=https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=1185&context=ssl {{cite thesis , last=Krause, first=Corinna, title=Eadar Dà Chànan: Self-Translation, the Bilingual Edition and Modern Scottish Gaelic Poetry , date=2007, institution=The

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

School of Celtic and Scottish Studies , url=https://www.era.lib.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1842/3453/Krause2007.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y {{cite web , title=Publications , url=http://www.thesorleymacleantrust.org.uk/english/poetry_periodicals.htm , publisher=The Sorley MacLean Trust , accessdate=19 August 2018 {{cite web , title=Out of Skye to the World (1934-1943) , url=http://www.sorleymaclean.org/english/from_skye.htm , publisher=The Sorley MacLean Trust , accessdate=18 August 2018 {{cite web , title=The poetry of Sorley MacLean , url=http://www.open.edu/openlearn/history-the-arts/culture/literature-and-creative-writing/literature/the-poetry-sorley-maclean/altformat-word , publisher=

Open University The Open University (OU) is a Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's undergraduate ...

{{cite book , last1=Day , first1=Gary , last2=Docherty , first2=Brian , title=British Poetry from the 1950s to the 1990s: Politics and Art , date=1997 , publisher=Springer , isbn=9781349255665 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4mSxCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA145 , language=en {{cite news , title=20mh linn– Am Bàrd: Somhairle MacGill-Eain , url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/alba/foghlam/larachnambard/poets/somhairle_macgilleain/am_bard/ , accessdate=17 August 2018 , work=

BBC Alba BBC Alba is a Scottish Gaelic-language free-to-air public broadcast television channel jointly owned by the BBC and MG Alba. The channel was launched on 19 September 2008 and is on-air for up to seven hours a day. The name ' is the Scottish Gae ...

– Làrach nam Bàrd , language=gd {{cite web , title=Sorley MacLean , url=http://www.scottishpoetrylibrary.org.uk/poetry/poets/sorley-maclean , publisher= Scottish Poetry Library , accessdate=17 August 2018 , language=en {{cite journal , last1=MacRae , first1=Alasdair , date=2007, title=Sorley MacLean in Non-Gaelic Contexts , url=http://www.sorleymaclean.org/english/files/Sorley%20MacLean%20in%20Non-Gaelic%20Contexts.pdf {{cite web , title=Alumni in history: Sorley MacLean (1911–1996) , url=http://www.ed.ac.uk/alumni/services/notable-alumni/alumni-in-history/sorley-maclean , publisher=

, accessdate=30 November 2015 {{cite journal , last1=Poncarová , first1=Petra Johana , title=Sorley MacLean's Other Clearance Poems , journal=Studies in Scottish Literature , date=5 January 2015 , volume=43 , issue=1 , pages=124–134 , url=https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://scholar.google.com/&httpsredir=1&article=2148&context=ssl {{cite book , last1=Beard , first1=David , last2=Gloag , first2=Kenneth , last3=Jones , first3=Nicholas , title=Harrison Birtwistle Studies , date=2015 , publisher=Cambridge University Press , isbn=9781107093744 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vTFvBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA193 , language=en {{cite web , title=Writing Scotland - Sorley MacLean , url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/profiles/5btqSDpT800TGH1KfnmPpnZ/sorley-maclean , website=BBC , accessdate=17 August 2018 {{cite web , title=Distinctions and honours , url=http://www.sorleymaclean.org/english/distinctions_honours.htm , publisher=The Sorley MacLean Trust , accessdate=20 August 2018 {{cite journal , last1=Caimbeul , first1=Maoilios , authorlink1=Maoilios Caimbeul , title=Feartan ann am bardachd Shomhairle MhicGill-Eain , date=2007 , url=http://www.sorleymaclean.org/english/files/Feartan%20ann%20am%20Bardachd%20Shomhairle%20MhicGill-Eain.pdf , publisher=The Sorley MacLean Trust , language=gd Scottish Gaelic poems Song cycles Symbolist literature