The most famous portrait of Burns, painted by Alexander Nasmyth
Robert Burns was born on 25 January 1759, in Alloway, South Ayrshire, the eldest of the seven children of William and Agnes Burnes [as originally spelled], who were poor tenant farmers. Taught mainly by his father, Burns received formal education in Latin, French, grammar and mathematics only when the tough manual labour of harvests would allow. Yet, despite this inauspicious upbringing, Burns was to become Scotland’s most celebrated poet, lyricist and writer in the Scots dialect. So what is it about him that so captured our imagination?
Precocious talent and an eye for the girls
By the age of 15, Burns was already revealing some of his most famous character traits: his talent for poetry and song, and his fondness for ‘the ladies’. While trying to eke out a living in farming alongside a little study, Burns would write about any girl that captivated him, whether fellow farm labourer or student. By the age of 24, he had written several poems and songs, and had begun creating a Commonplace Book. Throughout his life, Burns’s writing was unfailingly driven by his passions: for Scotland, story, politics, and not least by his many love affairs.
Linguistic ability
Tam O' Shanter, one of Burns's most famous epic poems
Burns’s writing career took off with a bang on publication of his Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect (or the Kilmarnock Volume) in 1786. It attracted immediate critical acclaim and marked the beginning of his success in publication. In the years to follow Burns distinguished himself not only as an able writer in Scots, but in Standard English, and in an accessible, lighter Scots dialect. His writing was attractive worldwide, not only for this broad linguistic ability, but the diversity of his subject matter too. Burns was as at home with the romance of ‘A Red, Red Rose’ to the fantasy of ‘Tam O’Shanter’ to the outspoken politics of his ‘Election Ballads’. Further, Burns was not only the creator of many melodies that we now think of as traditional songs such as ‘Auld Lang Syne’, but worked hard to collect, preserve, and sometimes adapt many of the older folk songs of Scotland. Without his work, it’s likely that many of these would have been lost.
A tragic, early death
Burns was an outspoken poet, especially when writing in Standard English. His open support of the French Revolution and reform for the working classes alienated his friends, the Crown and his literary critics. Despite his fame and improved prospects, this alienation took its toll on Burns: both his health and morale faltered early in life. Critics blamed ‘intemperance’ for his worsening heart condition and others spread rumours that the poet’s failing constitution was caused by venereal disease. On the morning of 21 July 1796 Burns died in Dumfries, at the age of just 37, after a simple dental extraction.
Celebrating his life – the Burns Supper
To honour the life and work of our flawed, talented, and fascinating poet, Scotland celebrates Burns Night on 25th January every year. This traditional meal begins with the reading of Burns’s ‘Selkirk Grace’, after which the haggis is carried ceremoniously into the room, usually preceded by a lone piper. Burns’s ‘Address to a Haggis’ is then read and the haggis cut open. After the meal, a Burns poem may be performed, followed by an account of Burns’s life and a toast to his ‘Immortal Memory’. A male speaker will then make the ‘Toast to the Lassies’, a light-hearted observation on the attractions and foibles of women. A female speaker will then respond in kind with a ‘Reply to the Toast’, poking mild fun at men, at Burns, and ending on a positive note. The Burns Supper ends with everyone joining hands to sing Burns’s ‘Auld Lang Syne’ before parting – perhaps his best-known work that is known and sung the world over.
Why not hold your own Burns Supper in honour of the Bard? For more information, see: www.bbc.co.uk/arts/robertburns/burns_night_running_order.shtml