Who was Robert Burns?
Contributed by the Robert Burns Society of the Midlands The Palmetto Pipes & Drums will perform at the Robert Burns Dinner Robert Burns was born January 25, 1759, on the Carrick border of Scotland where singing songs and writing new ones were part of the local tradition. It was a great diversion to the drudgery of hard farm work. As his fame as national bard became established, Burns continued to write in his own Scots dialect, defying those who governed. In searching for the roots of a poetry deep in the hearts of the people of Scotland, Burns introduced something startling and daring into the literature of the time. Burns was ahead of his time, and his true interest lay in the metric irregularity of Scottish folksongs. His poems represented a turning back to the period when Scottish literature was both Scottish and literary. Burns was the parochial poet who started rhyming for fun, and a man of independent mind. Ultimately, he attained the universal admiration that his great work des
Robert Burns, or Rabbie as he is sometimes known, is a significant iconic figure in Scottish Culture and History and is also know as one of the worlds most famous poets. Born into a poor family on 25th January, 1759, in Alloway, Ayr, Burns started his career by working on the family farm. Robert’s father recognised the importance of education and together with other friends, a local teacher was hired to educate Burns. Even from an early age Burns began to show signs of his writing talent. Moving into adulthood Burns was known for his great passion for Scotland and his dynamic and contemporary vision became an important source of inspiration to the founders of both socialism and liberalism. He later rose to fame, in 1786 when his first works “Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect” were published by John Wilson of Kilmarnock, and so began his flourishing career in writing. Much of the influence for Burns’ songs and poetry were gathered from his surroundings, the places he travelled to,
Robert Burns was the son of a poor Scottish farmer who became one of the world s greatest poets. He spent time as a farmer himself, he had quite a few children by a rather large number of women one of whom was his wife. He was passionate in his life both with women and with his beliefs. Robert Burns was a poetic genius who loved the land he was born into (though he threatened to leave it forever three times but never did). He was a man who had empathy with nature, and with his fellow man. He was a man who held strong, even radical, political views and yet become an Exciseman for the government.
