Robene and Makyne

"Robene and Makyne" is a short poem by the 15th-century Scottish makar Robert Henryson.

[1] Robene and Makyne (also spelt Mawkin) are stock names for peasant characters, a shepherd and a country maiden.

Minds quickly change and in the closing arc the hopeless declaration is from Robene.

The spareness allows different and perhaps dissonant readings to be simultaneously present, but any "allegorical" implications are present without pretentiousness or loss of authentic feeling and the poem stands as a simple comic creation with a surprisingly wide range of emotion and intriguing tonal ambiguity [citation needed].

The closure, peculiar in its effect, evokes feelings of emptiness and a sense of musical return.