In this poem, MacLean captures the imposing power of the Highland landscape. Despite the passing of time and human contamination, it not only endures but thrives.
The poem is comprised of four stanzas:
Visually, the lines of the poem are generally irregular. This perhaps reflects the dramatic, unpredictable landscape that the poem describes.
There are shorter lines in the closing stanza. Along with words associated with speed – surge
and impetuous
- these help move the poem to a climactic conclusion.
Unlike some of MacLean’s more immediately personal poems, this poem is not written in first person.