Robert Burns简介

But to see her, was to love her; Love but her, and love for ever. ---- Robert Burns

Part Two Robert Burns (1759-1796)

I. Introduction to Robert Burns

Burns was born at Alloway near Ayr on 25th January 1759, the eldest of the family. In 1757 he married Agnes Brown.

His earliest years were spent in the "auld cley biggin". In 1765 the family moved to Mount Oliphant, a 70-acre farm two miles away. It was here, in the autumn of 1774, that Burns wrote his first song Handsome Nell as a tribute to the girl with whom he was partnered at harvest-time. With the exception of the Tragic Fragment(in blank verse), all of Burns's early compositions were lyrics set to well-known melodies of the period, and song writing was to be his principal metier till the end of his life.

At Whitsun 1777 the Burnes family moved to Lochlie, a hill farm of 130 acres in Tarbolton parish. Three years later Burns took a leading part in founding the Tarbolton Bachelors' Club, a convivial debating society widely regarded as the prototype for the many Burns clubs now flourishing world-wide. In 1780 he was inducted into the local masonic lodge; freemasonry was to be a major influence on his life, and helped launch his literary career.

William Burnes died in February 1784, broken by prolonged litigation over the lease of Lochlie. The following month Robert and Gilbert decided to alter the spelling of their surname, and about that time took the lease of Mossgiel farm near Mauchline. The death of William Burnes had a liberating influence on Robert; 1784 was his annus mirabilis and a great deal of the poetry which would appear in his first edition was composed in this brief period.

He was liberated in other ways also, with unfortunate results. In 1785 Elizabeth Paton, a farm-servant, gave birth to a daughter. Characteristically Burns celebrated the event in verses. An affair with Iean Armour, a master-mason's daughter, had inevitable results. Hounded by the girl's father, Burns had a brief affair with a byre woman at Coilsfield, which ended tragically with her death from typhoid fever which may have been exacerbated by pregnancy.

Deciding to emigrate to Jamaica, Burns cast about for some way of raising the GBP 20.00 to pay his fare, and decided to publish his poems. Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect appeared at Kilmarnock in July 1786 in a modest edition of 612 copies at three shillings, and netted the poet about GBP 54.00. Encouraged by favourable acclaim from the Revd Dr Thomas Blacklock, one of the Edinburgh literati, Burns abandoned his plans to emigrate. In November he set out for Edinburgh in the hope of securing a second and much larger edition. Published in April 1787, this yielded about GBP 1100, part of which Burns used to pay his brother's debts and part to take the lease of Ellisland farm in Nithsdale, which he occupied 1788-91.