Robert Burns

Robert Burns (1759 - 1796) is a Scottish icon, widely regarded as the national poet of the Scots, and whose life and work is commemorated on 'Burns Night' on the 25th of January each year.

Robert Burns was born on 25th January 1759 in Alloway Scotland, the eldest of the seven children of William Burness. He was a Scottish poet and a lyricist and is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland who is celebrated worldwide.

He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language, although much of his writing is also in English and a “light” Scots dialect, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland. He also wrote in standard English, and in these works, his political and civil commentary is often at its most blunt.

Burns is regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement and after his death became a great source of inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism. A cultural icon in Scotland and among the Scottish Diaspora around the world, celebration of his life and work became almost a national cult during the 19th and 20th centuries, and his influence has long been strong on Scottish literature. In 2009, he was voted by the Scottish public as being the Greatest Scot, through a vote run by Scottish television channel STV.

As well as making original compositions, Burns also collected folk songs from across Scotland, often revising or adapting them. His poem (and song) Auld Lang Syne is sung at Hogmanay (the last day of the year), and Scots Wha Hae served for a long time as an unofficial national anthem of the country. Other poems and songs of Burns that remain well-known across the world today include A Red, Red Rose, A Man’s A Man for A’ That, To a Louse, To a Mouse, The Battle of Sherramuir, Tam o’ Shanter, and Ae Fond Kiss. Various editions of the Collected Poems of Robert Burns have been published.

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