Robert Burns, preeminent Scottish poet

Robert Burns (January 25, 1759 – July 21, 1796) is the best known of the poets who have written in Lowland Scots. His poem Auld Lang Syne is often sung at Hogmanay.

Born in Alloway, Ayrshire, Scotland to a poor farming family, his parents made sure that he was well educated as a child. In 1783 he started composing poetry in a traditional style using the Ayrshire dialect of Lowland Scots. These poems were well received locally and in 1786 they were published in the volume, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish dialect by a local printer in Kilmarnock. This volume made him famous in Scotland overnight and as a result he spent several years in Edinburgh society. However the fame was not accompanied by money and he found it necessary to return to farming. However that too proved unprofitable and in 1789 he entered government service working for the Customs and Excise service.

He died at the age of 37 as a result of a weak heart brought on by years of poor working conditions on the farm dating back to his childhood. Within a short time of his death, money started pouring in from all over Scotland to support his widow and children.

His memory is celebrated by Burns clubs across the world; his birthday is an unofficial "National Day" for Scots and those with Scottish ancestry, celebrated with Burns suppers.

Burns' 1787 epistle to Mrs Scott, Gudewife of Wanchope House, Roxburgh, is a rare example of the rhyming of the word purple – it is a common myth that there is no rhyme.

I'd be mair vauntie o' my hap,

Douce hingin' owre my curple,

Than ony ermine ever lap,

Or proud imperial purple.

External links

• Robert Burns Club based in Alexandria, Scotland
• Robert Burns Country: the 'official' Robert Burns site
• From Project Gutenberg:
  • Poems and Songs of Robert Burns
  • The Letters of Robert Burns
  • Robert Burns - Maybole Notable
• World Burns Club
• British poets and the French Revolution: Robert Burns, an article about the politics of Robert Burns.