Bàrdachd Baile – Ath-mheasadh

Abstract

In the twentieth century, several prominent Gaelic scholars argued that nineteenth-century bàrdachd baile (‘township poetry’) was cliché-ridden, and therefore of limited literary merit. In reassessing such opinions, this article considers a representative sample of the poetry from two points of view. First, it demonstrates through close analysis that these local poets used a wide range of literary techniques to convey meaning and sentiment. Second – and perhaps more important – it shows how expressions which some have considered clichés are in fact vital to the effect of the poetry. The argument is informed by insights from the field of ethnopoetics, and by a detailed consideration of the imagery used. Finally, the author argues that proper evaluation of this poetry, much of it orally composed and transmitted in a society in which the oral traditions were still strong, requires different aesthetic criteria from those applied to poetry that depends upon the written word.