Assignment:Paper no.102 The Neo-Classical Periods

Paper Name: 102.The Neo-Classical Periods

Topic Name: Robert Burns:Life 

Subject Code No:22393

Name: Divya Sheta 

Roll No.:06

Enrollment No.:4069206420210033

Email ID: divyasheta@gmail.com

Batch:2020-23 MA SEM-I

Submitted to : Smt.S.B.Gardi Department of English, MK Bhavanagar University.  

• Introduction:

As Edward Albert mentions in his book,"With the appearance of Burns we can say that the day of Romanticism is come" Robert Burn was nominated figure of Eighteenth Century and was kindly celebrated as Scottish National poet. He known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, the National Bard, Bard of Ayrshire, the Ploughman Poet and various other names.He was born on January 25, 1759,in a small clay-built cottage, the work of his father's hands, in the district of Kyle, in Ayrshire. Alloway, Scotland. His father William Burns a tenant farmer, educated his children at home.He attended one year of mathematics schooling and, between 1765 and 1768, he attended an "adventure" school established by his father and John Murdock. He fell in love at the age of fifteen and shortly, thereafter he wrote his first poem. In 1785, he was the fathered of his first child from fourteen, while his biographer, De Lancey Ferguson, had said, "it was not so much that he was conspicuously sinful as that he sinned." Between 1784 and 1785, Burns also wrote many of the poems collected in his first book, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, which was printed in 1786 and paid for by subscriptions.In his studies, he was not too good, but he tried to achieve all the things. And one moment come that as he grew, he sow himself to be the professor with lively mind, which was actually lead him mental depression. 

• His Life at Alloway :

Robert Burns born in Alloway which was two or three mils far away from Ayr town.He was born in a house, built by his father and now it's called Burns Cottage Museum. William Burns sold the house and took the tenancy in Mount Oliphant farm, southeast of Alloway, when Burns grew up in poverty and hardship, and the severe manual labour of the farm left its traces in a premature stoop and a weakened constitution.

His schooling was rare, he mostly gain the education from his father,who taught him to reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, and history and also wrote for them A Manual of Christian Belief. John Murdoch (1747–1824), who opened an "adventure school" in Alloway in 1763 and taught Latin, French, and mathematics to both Robert and his brother Gilbert (1760–1827) from 1765 to 1768. After his school education, he sent to Dalrymple Parish School. At the age of 15, he became the principal  labourer at Mount Oliphant. In 1774, he was assisted by Nelly Kilpatrick who probably his first love, inspired him to write his first poetry, "O, Once I Lov'd A Bonnie Lass." He was sent to finish his further education at Kirkoswald, where he met Peggy Thompson, to whom he wrote two songs, "Now Westlin' Winds" and "I Dream'd I Lay". 

As Edward Albert mentions that,"His life was hard and bitter; his different attempts at farming and at other occupations met with no success, and he determined to seek his fortune in the West Indies (1786). In the nick of time he learned that the small volume of verse that he had recently issued at

Kilmarnock was attracting much attention, and he was persuaded to remain in Scotland

and discover what fame had in store for him." He further mentions about his rest of life that, He found this impossible, for fame brought added temptation. His farming was a failure, and the income from his Excise post and his poems was insufficient to keep him decently. At the age of thirty-seven he died at Dumfries, of premature old age."

• Affairs with womens:

Burns also made association with a group of girls known as The Belles of Mauchline around this time. One of those girls was Jean Armour, with whom Burns fell profoundly in love. Initially, her father rejected their relationship, but eventually they married in 1788, and had nine children. Despite their marriage, Burns remained involved in love affairs with other women. 

• Features of his Poetry:

Edward mentions about poetry that,"The poetry is of such a miscellaneous character, and its composition was often so haphazard in the matter of time, that it is almost impossible to give a detailed chronology of it."

• The best work of Burns was almost entirely lyrical in motive.
• His narrative gift, as it is revealed in Tam o' Shanter, becomes fused with the heat of some lyrical emotion (in this case that of drunken jollity), and then it shines with a clear flame. But with the departure of the lyrical emotion the narrative impulse ends as well.
• He discovers the touch of nature that makes the whole world kin. Here we have the "passion and apathy, and glory and shame" that are the inspiration of the lyrical poet, and we have them in rich abundance.
• His humour and pathos are as copious and varied as his subject-matter.
• He can run to the other extreme of emotion, and be graceful and sentimental, as in Afton Water and O My Luve's like a Red, Red Rose.)
•  His pathos ranges from the piercing cry of 'Ae Fond Kiss'
• through the pensive pessimism of Ye Banks and Braes, to the tempered melancholy of My
• Heart's in the Highlands. The facility of this precious lyrical gift became a positive weakness, for he wrote too freely, and much of his song-writing is of mediocre quality.
• Mood of vinous elation;he is acutely depressed and almost maudlin and pure loveliness is almost unexcelled.
• His politics, as expressed in such poems as 'A Man's a Man'for a' That, are merely the natural utterances of a strong and sensitive mind deeply alive to the degradation of his native people.
• His religious views, in so far as they are coloured by his unhappy personal experiences with the Scottish Church, are of value solely as the inspiration of capital satirical verse, but in The Cotter's Saturday Night Burns pays a spontaneous and beautiful tribute to the piety of the Scottish peasant. 
• His style is noteworthy for the curious double tendency that is typical of the transition. When he writes in the 'correct' manner he has all the petty vices of the early school.(Edward wrote about The New School as transition poets of 18th century.)
•  As the national poet of Scotland his position is unique. He is first, and the rest nowhere. His rod, like Aaron's, has swallowed up the rods of the other Scottish poets; so that in the popular fancy he is the author of any striking Scottish song, such as Annie Laurie or Auld Robin Gray.

•  Burns as National Poet:

He became the National poet of Scottish, due to three reasons, 

1. The subject matter and tone of his work are the natural consummation of the Scottish vernacular tradition descending from the period of Dunbar and through Fergusson, to the latter of whom Burns was considerably indebted. In this traditional poetry are found the zest, pace, hilarity, and realism which are characteristic of his work.
2. He has a matchless gift of catching traditional airs and wedding them to words of simple and searching beauty. It is almost impossible to think of Auld Lang Syne or Scots wha hae or Green grow the Rashes, 0! without their respective melodies being inevitably associated with them. And these tunes were born in the blood of the Scottish peasant.
3. He rejoices in descriptions of Scottish scenery and customs.The Cotter's Saturday Night is packed with such features, and all through his work are glimpses of typical Scottish scenes.

• His style:   

His writing style is spontaneous, direct, and sincere, marked with gentle intensity with slight touches of humor and satire. Most of his poems drew a considerable amount of influence from English Literature and the Bible, as well as the Scottish English dialect. He used popular themes of love, gender roles, sexuality, poverty, radicalism, and republicanism in his poems. His poems also reflected ups and down which could suggest that Burns himself suffered from severe depression throughout his life.

Many famous poets were heavily influenced by Robert Burns including William Wordsworth, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and S.T. Coleridge. In addition, Burns also influenced many literary figures in Canada, the United States, and Russia, and continues to exert his influence around the world where English poetry is read and taught.

• Stamps and currency

The Soviet Union gave the honour to Burns on 160th anniversary of his death in 1956.While, in 1996,the Isle of Man issued a four-coin set of Crown (5/-) pieces on the themes of 'Auld Lang Syne.'

• Musical Tributes:

Musical tributes, firstly given by singer Jean Redpath, in collaboration with composer Serge Hovey, started to record all of Burns's songs in 1976. There was also one musical play performed by John Barrowman. On 25 January 2008 about Burns  love affair with Nancy McLehose which title was  Clarinda premiered in Edinburgh.

• Conclusion:

In a nutshell, he was the first who came as transitional poet in eighteenth century literature and gave delight with love poetry. His lyrical poems were also impressed readers successors and in the next age we found that poets like William Wordsworth and S.T.Clodrige were quite enthusiastically wrote their poems.