Bateman, M. (2003)

"Cruth na Tìre ann am Bàrdachd Ghàidhlig an 18mh linn" ann an Cruth na Tìre, dd. 77-78

'S e cuplachadh a-muigh am pàirt aig mac-an-duine ann am "Moladh Mòraig". Bha na bràithrean Dòmhnallach air an sgreamhachadh le drabastachd an dàin agus gheàrr iad pìosan a-mach às nuair a dh'fhoillsich iad e. Gun teagamh, tha beagan dànadas an lùib a bhith a' cur feòlmhorachd agus cànan òirdheirc còmhla – rud a rinn an Rìdire Math agus Iseabail Ní Mhic Chailein ann an Gàidhlig Chlasaigich – ach saoilidh mi gur e an rud as cudromaiche ri dhearbhadh gur e dàn os-bheusach seach droch-bheusach a tha ann. 'S e suidheachadh nàdarrach an dàin iuchair an leughaidh seo, agus san t-seagh seo, chìthear snàithealan a' ruith bhon dàn seo ann an tradisean nan Gàidheal gu Bothan Àirigh am Bràigh Raineach gu Diarmuid is Gráinne, far a bheil daoine air an saoradh bho bheusan a' mhòr-shluaigh le bhith gan aithneachadh fhèin mar phàirt den t-saoghal nàdarrach far nach eil co-ionnanachd eadar feòlmhorachd agus am peacach gineamhainn. Seach nach e creutairean moralta a tha sna beathaichean, chan eil an cuid dàir air an thruailleadh. Nì Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair an dearbh phuing seo, is esan saor sna coilltean o chuingleachadh nam mionnan pòsaidh aige:

Tha nàdar mar àite tlachd fun bhacadh moralta, na dhachaidh dha na h-uile, agus tha an cuplachadh mar phàirt de ath-nuadhachadh ioma-chruthadh, ioma-dhathte na cruthaigheachd.

Black, R. (2007)

"Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair and the New Gaelic Poetry" ann an The Edinburgh History of Scottish Literature: v.2. Enlightenment, Britain and Empire (1707-1918), t.d. 114

The tradition inherited by Alasdair was of praise and dispraise. Màiri Nighean Alasdair Ruaidh showed how to do it with fire in the belly, Iain Lom reported on events as they happened, and Sìleas na Ceapaich contributed discussion of political and moral issues, but poets were still measured by how successfully they could bend and stretch existing codes of praise and dispraise. The best analogy is painting: until Alasdair's time painters were largely restricted to painting God and heaven, dispraising the devil and hell, and testing how far they could stretch the conventions of formal portraiture. The artistic problem was insincerity; the practical one was the shrinking pool of patrons in a world that had been changing rapidly since the abortive rising of 1715. Alasdair's answer was little short of revolutionary: with certain exceptions he turned his back on famous men. His 'Moladh a' Chaimbeulaich Dhuibh' ('The Praise of the Black Campbell') is actually a satire; the real exceptions were forced on him by circumstances. As a Jacobite propagandist he could hardly refuse to praise Prince Charles, and from 1745 to 1751 he did so with enormous vigour. The same applies to his elegy for Simon, Lord Lovat, who went to the scaffold in 1746; the eulogy he made for young Clanranald in 1747-48 was dictated by the need for a job. What throws all of this into relief is his eagerness to praise women, creatures, things, concepts: Mòrag, Màiri Shugaideach, Cuachag an Fhàsaich, his pet dove, the lion of Clan Donald, whisky, a good penis, MacCrimmon's pipes, the Gaelic language, Highland dress, the seasons...

MacDhòmhnaill, G.

Leabhar Leughaidh Blackie

An dòigh no dhà tha 'Sgiobaireachd Chlann Raghnaill' a' dol os cionn gach bàrdachd eile a rinn Alasdair. Bha a dhachaigh a-riamh ri taobh a' Chuain Shiair agus b' ann do dhaoine a bha a' faighinn am bith-beò às a' chuan sin a bhuineadh e. Bha e mion-eòlach air a' chuan, air fuaim na mara 's nan tonn a' briseadh air a' chladach.

Cha robh dath a thigeadh air an iarmailt, biodh i sèimh ciùin no bagarrach dorch, air nach robh e eòlach, agus thug e àite do chumhachd nan speur, na gaoithe, agus na fairge, cho math ri spiorad sliochd nan eileanan, anns a' bhàrdachd iomraitich seo. Ged tha earrannan innte anns a bheil mac-meanmna a' bhàird car bho riaghailt, tha earrannan eile a dh'fhaodte a chur ri taobh bàrdachd na Grèige agus na Ròimhe gun Alasdair mòran a chall bhon choimeas. Rinn Alasdair aoirean agus bàrdachd eile a bha sgaiteach geur, do nach faod sinn moladh a thoirt air chor air bith.

Ach bu mhiann leinn an seòrsa bàrdachd sin a leigeil air dìochuimhne, air sgàth nan dàn ciatach agus uasal leis an do rinn e saidhbhir litreachas nan Gaidheal. Thug iad sin dha àite anns an t-sreath as àirde de na bàird, agus cumaidh a luchd-dùthcha cuimhne orra cho fada is a bhios an cànan air a labhairt, air a sgrìobhadh agus air a sheinn.

Thomson, D. S. (1961)

"Gaelic Poets of the 18th Century: (6) Alasdair Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair", An Gaidheal, t.d. 82

Mac Mhaighstir Alasdair has not infrequently been accused of exaggeration or overkill, particularly in his descriptive passages. Sometimes these accusations have arisen from misunderstanding of his intentions. The storm-scenes in the Birlinn are a case in point: lurid exaggeration is of their essence, for the poet is indulging in a fantasy that has some basis in fact but also in fiction (Gaelic saga fiction). It is not intended as a sober report to an insurance company. He has often been accused of excess in his nature descriptions, and of following uncritically the fashion of piling up adjectives etc. It is easy to find good examples of mere piling up in Gaelic verse before and after his time, and no doubt some can be identified in his work also, but the passages of packed adjectival description in the seasonal songs, for example, have a fine detail and mobility and inventiveness that is highly impressive. There are inherited traditional elements is such passages, but the verve and incisiveness of the seasonal poems, the skilful intermix of themes and motifs, and the careful development of themes (e.g. the musical progression from lute to chanter to bird music to organ music in the Song to the Summer) have never been equalled in such verse in Gaelic. Clearly these poems made a deep impression on the poet's contemporaries and successors, many of whom attempted work in this genre.