Robert Burns Brief Biography
Scottish Poet, Famous for Auld Lang Syne and A Red, Red Rose
Sep 4, 2009
Robert Burns is best-loved and celebrated as Scotland's national poet. His work, which was often in Scots dialect, rescued Scottish culture from being swamped by the growing influence of English culture. He is best-known for "Auld Lang Syne" and "A Red, Red Rose."
Early Life of Robert Burns
Robert Burns was born on January 25, 1759 at Alloway in Ayrshire, western Scotland. His father was a poor farmer who did his best to give his sons a good education. In due time, Burns and his brother Gilbert set up as farmers, but their rented land was poor. The brothers struggled to make a living.
Aside from writing poems, Burns charm set about wooing girls. He fathered several children by different women. He wanted to marry Jean Armour, one of his loves, but her parents disapproved of the relationship.
The Poetry of Burns
As Burns's father was determined to give him an education, he studied Shakespeare, the Bible, Alexander Pope, and French language. Despite being taught the formal English poetry, Burns found that Scottish dialect was the ideal way to express himself and his rebellious attitude to the severe Scottish Church.
The Poet's Adult Life
When he was 27, Burns had many of his poems published in Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect. The book was a great success, and he moved to Edinburgh for a year and a half. He also started mixing with high society. The success made Jean's parents relent, and Burns married her in 1788. He returned to farming but later gave it up in favour of a more secure job as an excise officer, a tax collector.
Later Years of Burns
Burns wrote nearly all his long narrative poems between 1784 and 1786. After that he took to writing the songs for which he is chiefly remembered, such as "A Red, Red Rose" and "Auld Lang Syne."
He wrote and edited hundreds of songs for collections before dying of heart disease at an early age. He died on July 21, 1796, at the age of 37. Aside from Scotland's annual festival to honour him, Burns' birthday is also celebrated in other countries.
Poems by Robert Burns
- Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, 1786
- The Works of Robert Burns, 1834-1886, Published after he died
- Robert Burns' Commonplace Book, 1783-1785, 1938, Published after he died
Sources:
- McGovern, Una, Ed. Chambers Biographical Dictionary. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers, 2002.
- Ousby, Ian. The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993.
- Payne, Tom. The A-Z of Great Writers. London: Carlton, 1997.
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