Robert Burns

Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and lyricist and is considered the national poet of Scotland. Celebrated worldwide, he is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language and is regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement. 

In his autobiographical letter to John Moore, Burns described his recognition of his feelings for Scotland: “... the story of Wallace poured a Scottish prejudice in my veins which will boil along there till the flood-gates of life shut in eternal rest.”

In 2009 he was chosen as the greatest Scot by the Scottish public in a vote run by Scottish Television (STV).

Born in Ayrshire in 1789, he was born into a farming family and raised on a smallholding. Throughout his life he tried to make his living farming and owned three different farms all unable to provide for him and his family. Finally, he worked as an Exciseman from 1788 to his death in 1796.

Despite his financial difficulties with his first farm, Burns managed to publish his first collection of poems entitled Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect in 1786 at the age of 27.

His poem and song Auld Lang Syne is often sung at Hogmanay - the last day of the year - and Scots Wha Hae served for a long time as an unofficial national anthem of the country.

Both in content and in style his poetry was unique for its time. The style most often reflects that of Scottish traditional songs and ballads. The content, which is drawn from the everyday experience of the of the Scottish people, made his work stand out to the Scots and people around the world.

He lived during the period known as the Scottish Enlightenment and is known as a pre-Romantic poet influencing the later Romantic poets including Keats, Byron and Shelley. Burns was a supporter of the French Revolution and radical societies in Scotland. Many of his poems from the 1790s reflect the spirit of the French Revolution. Poems such as Scots, wha hae and For a' that, became anthems of radical politics of the time.

For a that, and a' that,
It's comin' yet for a' that,
That Man to Man, the world o'er,
Shall brothers be for a' that.

He was also a radical for reform and wrote poems for democracy, such as – Parcel of Rogues to the Nation and the Rights of Women.

While Europe's eye is fix'd on mighty things,
The fate of Empires and the fall of Kings;
While quacks of State must each produce his plan,
And even children lisp the Rights of Man;
Amid this mighty fuss just let me mention,
The Rights of Woman merit some attention.

Here again from the Ode on General Washington's Birthday.

Here's freedom to them that would read.
Here's freedom to them that would write!
There's none ever fear'd that the truth should be heard
But they whom the truth would indite!

In Burns’ poem To A Mouse the speaker is a farmer who expresses remorse after accidentally destroying a mouse’s nest while plowing his field. He feels genuine compassion for the mouse’s difficult circumstances, particularly as harsh winter weather approaches. However, as the poem proceeds, it becomes increasingly clear that the speaker sees a specter of his own uncertain future in the mouse’s loss. 

The poem takes place in 1785, some fifty years into a transformative period known as the Scottish Agricultural Revolution or the Lowland Clearances. This led to the privatization of land, which led to higher rents, which in turn forced thousands of tenant farmers off their farms. Burns suffered financially from these clearances. 

The analogy in this poem between the mouse and Burns’ own struggles shows the highest level of poetic art.

Burns talked about how he created poems.

“My way is: I consider the poetic sentiment, correspondent to my idea of the musical expression, then choose my theme, begin one stanza, when that is composed—which is generally the most difficult part of the business—I walk out, sit down now and then, look out for objects in nature around me that are in unison or harmony with the cogitations of my fancy and workings of my bosom, humming every now and then the air with the verses I have framed. when I feel my Muse beginning to jade, I retire to the solitary fireside of my study, and there commit my effusions to paper, swinging, at intervals, on the hind-legs of my elbow chair, by way of calling forth my own critical strictures, as my pen goes.”

His poems are filled with biting satirical humour, a form he used to expose religious and political figures and their duplicitous words and deeds.

Scottish Canadians have embraced Robert Burns as a kind of patron poet and mark his January 25th birthday with festivities. Robbie Burns night is celebrated from Newfoundland and Labrador to Nanaimo. Canadian newspapers publish biographies of the poet, listings of local events, buffet menus and Universities mark the date in a range of ways.

Burns' poetry drew upon a substantial familiarity with and knowledge of classical, biblical and English literature, as well as the Scottish Makar tradition. Burns was skilled in writing not only in the Scots language but also in the Scottish English dialect of the English language

Burns’ passion for Scotland and its cultural traditions came to the fore during the last decade of his life, when he worked on The Scots Musical Museum and A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs. Putting words to traditional folk songs as well as composing his own tunes, Burns contributed hundreds of songs and lyrical poems to these volumes, including Auld Lang Syne, A Red, Red Rose and A Man’s a Man for A’ That.

Robert Burns died at the age of 37, in 1796, from a rheumatic heart condition. Jean Armour gave birth to their last son, Maxwell, on the day of her husband’s funeral.