"A Drunk Man Looks At The Thistle" by Hugh MacDiarmid is a poem from the early 1900s that mixes deep philosophical questions with personal thoughts, all tied to Scottish identity. Written in Scottish dialect, the poem follows a tipsy narrator as he thinks about life, what it means to be Scottish and what he thinks about things. The poem begins with the narrator, being drunk, thinking hard about his life and what Scotland is like. He talks about being tired, what people want from him, and how his drunk thoughts are different from real life. Using strong images, he thinks about the thistle, which is a symbol of Scotland, while at the same time saying he doesn't like how fake Scottish culture seems to him. As the narrator struggles with who he is and what people expect of him, his thoughts show the struggle between wanting to be free and being held back by society, leading to even greater thoughts in the work.
A drunk man looks at the thistle
By Hugh MacDiarmid
A whiskey-fueled journey takes the reader through the heart and mind of a man wrestling with his heritage, his place in the world, and the meaning of it all under the watchful gaze of Scotland's thorny emblem.
Summary
About the AuthorChristopher Murray Grieve, best known by his pen name Hugh MacDiarmid, was a Scottish poet, journalist, essayist and political figure. He is considered one of the principal forces behind the Scottish Renaissance and has had a lasting impact on Scottish culture and politics. He was a founding member of the National Party of Scotland in 1928 but left in 1933 due to his Marxist–Leninist views. He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain the following year only to be expelled in 1938 for his nationalist sympathies. He would subsequently stand as a parliamentary candidate for both the Scottish National Party (1945) and Communist Party of Great Britain (1964).
Christopher Murray Grieve, best known by his pen name Hugh MacDiarmid, was a Scottish poet, journalist, essayist and political figure. He is considered one of the principal forces behind the Scottish Renaissance and has had a lasting impact on Scottish culture and politics. He was a founding member of the National Party of Scotland in 1928 but left in 1933 due to his Marxist–Leninist views. He joined the Communist Party of Great Britain the following year only to be expelled in 1938 for his nationalist sympathies. He would subsequently stand as a parliamentary candidate for both the Scottish National Party (1945) and Communist Party of Great Britain (1964).
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