Literate Lifetime
"Today a reader, tomorrow a leader." -- W. Fusselman
Burns, Robert, 1759-1796We have 5 books for this author.
Robert Burns (January 25, 1759 – July 21, 1796) (also known as Rabbie Burns, Scotland's favourite son, the Ploughman Poet, the Bard of Ayrshire and in Scotland as simply The Bard) was a poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best-known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is also in English and a 'light' Scots dialect, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. He also wrote in standard English, and in these pieces, his political or civil commentary is often at its most blunt. He is regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement and after his death became an important source of inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism. A cultural icon in Scotland and among Scots who have relocated to other parts of the world (the Scottish Diaspora), celebration of his life and work became almost a national charismatic cult during the 19th and 20th centuries, and his influence has long been strong on Scottish literature. As well as making original compositions, Burns also collected folk songs from across Scotland, often revising or adapting them. His poem (and song) Auld Lang Syne is often sung at Hogmanay (New Year), and Scots Wha Hae served for a long time as an unofficial national anthem of the country. Other poems and songs of Burns that remain well-known across the world today, include A Red, Red Rose, A Man's A Man for A' That, To a Louse, To a Mouse, The Battle of Sherramuir, and Ae Fond Kiss. Burns Night, effectively a second national day, is celebrated on 25 January with Burns suppers around the world, and is still more widely observed than the official national day, Saint Andrew's Day, or the proposed North American celebration Tartan Day. The format of Burns suppers has not changed since Robert's death in 1796. The basic format starts with a general welcome and announcements followed with the Selkirk Grace. Just post the grace comes the piping and cutting of the Haggis, where Robert's famous Address To a Haggis is read, and the haggis is cut open. The event usually allows for people to start eating just after the haggis is presented. This is where the reading called the "immortal memory" which is an overview of Robert's life and work is given. Lastly the event will usually conclude with the singing of Auld Lang Syne. Biography
 Robert Burns was born in Alloway, South Ayrshire, Scotland, the son of William Burness (1721 - 1784) or Burns (Robert Burns originally spelled his surname Burness, but eventually dropped the 'ess'), a self-educated tenant farmer from Dunnottar, Kincardinshire, and Agnes Broun (1732 - 1820), the daughter of a tenant farmer from Kirkoswald, South Ayrshire. He grew up in poverty and hardship, and the severe manual labour of the farm left its traces in a premature stoop and weakened constitution. He had little regular schooling, and got much of what education he had from his father, who taught his children reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, and history, and also wrote for them A Manual Of Christian Belief. Burns also received education from a tutor, John Murdoch (1747 - 1824) , who opened an 'adventure school' in the Alloway parish in 1763, and taught Latin, French and mathematics to both Robert and his brother Gilbert (1760 - 1827). However, despite his ability and good character William Burness was consistently unfortunate, and moved his large family from farm to farm without ever improving his circumstances. In 1781 Burns moved to Irvine to become a flax-dresser, but during a New Year celebration, involving himself, the flax shop caught fire and was burned to the ground and he returned home. When their father died in 1784, Burns and his brother Gilbert made an ineffectual struggle to keep on the farm. After its failure, they moved to the farm at Mossgiel, which they maintained with an uphill fight for the next four years. Burns has been celebrated as a romantic lover, and his affairs before and during his marriage have been of considerable interest to biographers. One of his objects of affection was Eliza Burnett (1766 - 1790), the youngest daughter of Lord Monboddo. Burns's father was a tenant at the Monboddo House, and Robert was a frequent visitor there at the learned suppers as an excuse to see Eliza. He wrote several poems to her beauty and grace, but Eliza died at an early age and no serious consequence arose from their relationship. There are at least four letters extant from 1783, from Burns to Eliza, all of which are romantic in content, one containing the passage: "without you I can never be happy". He wrote in 1786 of her: "There has not been anything nearly like her in all the combinations of Beauty, Grace and Goodness the great Creator has formed, since Milton's Eve on the first day of her existence."[1] His casual love affairs did not endear him to the elders of the local kirk and created a reputation for dissolution amongst his neighbours. His first child was born to his mother’s servant in 1785, by which time he was in a relationship with Jean Armour (1765 - 1834), the daughter of a stonemason from Mauchline. Although she bore him twins in 1786, her father initially forbade their marriage but they were eventually married in 1788, and she bore him nine children in total, but only three survived infancy. During a rift in his relationshop with Jean Armour in 1786, and as his propects in farming declined, he began an afair with 'Highland' Mary Campbell (1763 - 1786), to whom he dedicated the poems The Highland Lassie O, Highland Mary and To Mary in Heaven. Their relationship has been the subject of much conjecture and it has been suggested that they may have married. They planned to emigrate to Jamaica, where Burns intended to work as a bookkeeper on a plantation. He was dissuaded by a letter from Thomas Blacklock, and before the plans could be acted upon, Mary Campbell died suddenly of a fever in Greenock. That summer, he published the first of his collections of verse, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish dialect, which created a sensation and has been recognised as a significant literary event. Literary works
At the suggestion of his brother, Robert Burns published his poems in the volume, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish dialect in April 1786, known as the Kilmarnock volume. Brought out by a local printer in Kilmarnock it contained much of his best writing, including The Twa Dogs, Address to the Deil, Hallowe'en, The Cotter's Saturday Night, To a Mouse, and To a Mountain Daisy, many of which had been written at Mossgiel farm. The success of the work was immediate and soon he was known across the country. He was invited to Edinburgh to oversee the preparation of a revised edition. There he was received as an equal by the city's brilliant men of letters and was a guest at aristocratic gatherings, where he bore himself with unaffected dignity. Here he encountered, and made a lasting impression on, the fifteen year old Walter Scott, who described him later as of "manners rustic, not clownish. His countenance was more massive than it looks in any of the portraits ... a strong expression of shrewdness in his lineaments; the eye alone indicated the poetical character and temperament. It was large, and of a dark cast, and literally glowed when he spoke with feeling or interest." His stay in the city resulted in some life-long friendships, among which were those with Lord Glencairn and Frances Anna Dunlop (1730 - 1815) who became his occasional sponsor, and with whom he corresponded for the rest of his life. While there he embarked on a relationship with the married Agnes 'Nancy' MacLehose (1759 - 1841), with whom he exchanged passionate letters under pseudonyms (Burns called himself 'Sylvander', and Nancy 'Clarinda'). When it became clear that Nancy would not be easily seduced into a physical relationship, Burns moved on to Jenny Clow, a servant girl who eventually bore him a son, and the relationship with Nancy concluded in 1791 with a final meeting in Edinburgh before Nancy sailed for Jamaica to join her husband. Before she left, he sent her the manuscript of Ae Fond Kiss, his farewell to her. The Scots Musical MuseumIn the winter of 1786 in Edinburgh he met James Johnson, a struggling music engraver and music seller, with a love of old Scots songs and a determination to preserve them. Burns shared this interest and became an enthusiastic contributor to The Scots Musical Museum. The first volume of this was published in 1787 and included three songs by Burns. He contributed 40 songs to volume 2, and would end up responsible for about a third of the 600 songs in the whole collection as well as making a considerable editorial contribution. The final volume was published in 1803. On his return to Ayrshire he resumed his relationship with Jean Armour and took the farm of Ellisland near Dumfries, but trained as an exciseman should farming continue to prove unsuccessful. He was appointed duties in Customs and Excise in 1789 and eventually gave up the farm in 1791. Meanwhile he was writing at his best, and in 1790 had produced Tam O' Shanter. About this time he was offered and declined an appointment in London on the staff of the Star newspaper, and refused to become a candidate for a newly-created Chair of Agriculture in the University of Edinburgh, although influential friends offered to support his claims. After giving up his farm he removed to Dumfries. It was at this time that, being requested to write lyrics for The Melodies of Scotland, he responded by contributing over 100 songs. He made major contributions to George Thomson's A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs for the Voice as well as to James Johnson's The Scots Musical Museum. Arguably his claim to immortality chiefly rests on these volumes which placed him in the front rank of lyric poets. Burns described how he had to master singing the tune before he composed the words:
His direct literary influences in the use of Scots in poetry were Allan Ramsay (1686-1758) and Robert Fergusson. Burns's poetry also drew upon a substantial familiarity 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. Some of his works, such as Love and Liberty (also known as The Jolly Beggars), are written in both Scots and English for various effects. His themes included republicanism (he lived during the French Revolutionary period) and Radicalism which he expressed covertly in Scots Wha Hae, Scottish patriotism, anticlericalism, class inequalities, gender roles, commentary on the Scottish Kirk of his time, Scottish cultural identity, poverty, sexuality, and the beneficial aspects of popular socialising (carousing, Scotch whisky, folk songs, and so forth). Burns and his works were a source of inspiration to the pioneers of liberalism, socialism and the campaign for Scottish self-government, and he is still widely respected by political activists today, ironically even by conservatives and establishment figures because after his death Burns became drawn into the very fabric of Scotland's national identity. It is this, perhaps unique, ability to appeal to all strands of political opinion in the country that have led him to be widely acclaimed as the national poet. Burns's views on these themes in many ways parallel those of William Blake, but it is believed that, although contemporaries, they were unaware of each other. Burns's works are less overtly mystical. He is generally classified as a proto-Romantic poet, and he influenced William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Percy Bysshe Shelley greatly. The Edinburgh literati worked to sentimentalise Burns during his life and after his death, dismissing his education by calling him a "heaven-taught ploughman." Burns would influence later Scottish writers, especially Hugh MacDiarmid who fought to dismantle the sentimental cult that had dominated Scottish literature in MacDiarmid's opinion. Burns also worked to collect and preserve Scottish folk songs, sometimes revising, expanding, and adapting them. One of the better known of these collections is The Merry Muses of Caledonia (the title is not Burns's), a collection of bawdy lyrics that were popular in the music halls of Scotland as late as the 20th century. Many of Burns's most famous poems are songs with the music based upon older traditional songs. For example, Auld Lang Syne is set to the traditional tune Can Ye Labour Lea, A Red, Red Rose is set to the tune of Major Graham and The Battle of Sherramuir is set to the Cameronian Rant. The genius of Burns is marked by spontaneity, directness, and sincerity, and his variety is marvellous, ranging from the rollicking humour and blazing wit of Tam o' Shanter to the blistering satire of Holy Willie's Prayer and The Holy Fair. His life is a tragedy, and his character full of flaws. But he fought at tremendous odds, and as Thomas Carlyle in his great Essay says, "Granted the ship comes into harbour with shrouds and tackle damaged, the pilot is blameworthy ... but to know how blameworthy, tell us first whether his voyage has been round the Globe or only to Ramsgate and the Isle of Dogs." See Cutty-sark for the popularity of the phrase "Weel done, Cutty-sark", a line from "Tam O' Shanter". 
Masonic associationRobert Burns was initiated into Lodge St David Tarbolton on 4 July 1781, when he was 22. His initiation fee was 12s 6d. He was passed and raised on 1 October 1781. Later his lodge became dormant and Burns joined Lodge St James Tarbolton Kilwinning number 135. The location of the Temple where Burns was made a Freemason is unknown but on 30 June 1784 the meeting place of the lodge became the “Manson Inn” in Tarbolton and one month later, 27 July 1784 Burns became Depute Master which he held until 1788, often honoured with supreme command. Although regularly meeting in Tarbolton, the “Burns Lodge” also removed itself en masse to Mauchline, 4 miles away, to hold meetings in this town. Mauchline was only a mile away from his own farm at Mossgiel. During the Masonic season of 1784 he never missed a meeting and was heavily involved in Lodge business, attending nine meetings, passing and raising brethren and generally running the Lodge. Similarly in 1785 he was equally involved as Depute Master where he again attended all nine lodge meetings amongst other duties of the Lodge. During 1785 he initiated, and passed his brother Gilbert being raised on 1 March 1788. The minutes show that there were more lodge meetings well attended during the Burns period than at any other time. He must have been a very popular and well respected Depute Master, however, his celebrity aided his rise in Freemasonry. At a meeting of Lodge St. Andrew in Edinburgh in 1787, in the presence of the Grand Master and Grand Lodge of Scotland, Burns was toasted by the Worshipful Grand Master, Most Worshipful Brother Francis Chateris. When he was received into Edinburgh Lodges his occupation was recorded as a “poet”. In early 1787, he was feted by the Edinburgh Masonic fraternity. The Edinburgh period of Burns life was fateful as further editions of Burns poetic output were sponsored by the Edinburgh Freemasons, ensuring that his name spread around Scotland and subsequently to England and abroad. After having spent 5 months in Edinburgh he set out on a tour in the South of Scotland, visiting lodges throughout Ayrshire, becoming an honorary member of a number of them. On 18 May 1787 he arrived at Eyemouth, Berwickshire and a meeting was convened of Royal Arch and Burns became a Royal Arch Mason. He was never a Scottish companion because at that time although Eyemouth is in Scotland, it operated under the English Royal Arch constitution. The name was “Land of Cakes” 52 on the English roll. The Chapter is now Scottish, number 15. On his return journey home to Ayrshire as he passed through Dumfries, where he later lived and is the site of the Burns Mausoleum, he was given the freedom of the town. On 25 July 1787, after being re-elected Depute Master he presided at a meeting where several well-known Masons were given honorary membership. A Highland tour followed with many other lodges being visited. During the period from his election as Depute Master in 1784 Lodge St James had been convened 70 times. Burns was present 33 times and was 25 times the presiding officer. On 11 November 1788 was his last meeting at his mother lodge St James Kilwinning. He joined Lodge Dumfries St Andrew Number 179 on 27 December 1788. This was an unfortunate choice, made perhaps because of the Excise connection. Out of the six Lodges in Dumfries he joined the one which was the weakest of them. The records of this lodge are scant and we hear no more of him until on 30 November 1792 when Burns was elected Senior Warden. From this date until his final meeting in the Lodge on 14 April 1796 it appears that the Lodge met only 5 times. There are no records of Burns visiting any other lodges. Final years
As Burns's health began to give way he became prematurely old and fell into fits of despondency. The habits of intemperance, to which he had always been more or less addicted, aggravated his long-standing rheumatic heart condition, and on July 21, 1796 he died at the age of 37. A memorial edition of his poems was published to raise money for his wife and children, and within a short time of his death, money started pouring in from all over Scotland to support them. His life and work continues to be promoted by Burns clubs across the world, with his birthday an unofficial national day for Scots and those with Scottish ancestry, celebrated with Burns suppers. HonoursThere are many organizations around the world named after Burns, as well as a large number of statues and memorials. Organisations include:
Statues and memorialsTowns named after Robert Burns
MiscellaneousThe British Royal Mail issued postage stamps commemorating Burns twice: two stamps, valued at fourpence and 1 shilling and threepence, both carrying Burns's portrait were issued in 1966. A second issue commemorating the bicentenary of Burns's death in 1996 contained four stamps valued at 19 pence, 25 pence, 41 pence and 60 pence, and included quotes from Burns's poems. Robert Burns is pictured on the £5 banknote (since 1971) of the Clydesdale Bank, one of the Scottish banks with the right to issue banknotes. On the reverse of the note there is a vignette of a field mouse and a wild rose which refers to Burns's poem "Ode to a mouse" A BR standard class 7 steam locomotive was named after him, along with a later electric locomotive, 87035 Burns's birthplace in Alloway is now a public museum. 1996 a musical by the name Red Red Rose won third place at a competition for new musicals in Denmark. The musical was about Burns's life and Robert Burns was played by John Barrowman. See also
Notes
References
External links
This biographical information was gathered from the Robert_Burns page, courtesy of the Wikipedia project. BooksThe Complete Works of Robert Burns: Containing his Poems, Songs, and Correspondence. With a New Life of the Poet, and Notices, Critical and Biographical by Allan CunninghamLauluja ja ballaadeja The Letters of Robert Burns Poems and Songs of Robert Burns Selections from Five English Poets |
Pick of the DayLists of Interest
Other ways of browsing |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alloway, Ayrshire, Scotland
