Post about Robert Burns. Death and legacy

A well-known folklorist Robert Burns was a bright, memorable personality and the national poet of Scotland. The biography of this eminent cultural figure is rather difficult. But this circumstance did not affect his work in any way. Burns wrote his writings in English and Scottish. He is the author of numerous poems and poems.

I would like to note that even during his lifetime, it was Robert Burns who received the title of national poet of Scotland.

Biography. Childhood

The future famous writer was born in 1957. Robert had six brothers and sisters. Reading and writing future poet studied with teacher John Murdoch. He was hired by local farmers to teach lessons to their children. It was Murdoch who noticed the boy's special abilities and advised him to pay more attention to literature. Already in 1783, the first writings of Burns appeared, written in the Ayshire dialect.

Youth

When young poet turned twenty-two, he leaves Father's house and goes to the city of Irvine to learn the profession of a flax processor there. However, after the workshop in which Robert was supposed to be engaged in a craft burned down in a fire, he returns to his homeland. In 1784 his father died. The eldest sons take on all the chores associated with farming on the farm. However, things are going extremely poorly.

Soon the family decides to leave the farm and move to Mossgil. The initiators of such a serious and responsible act were the older brothers - Gilbert and Robert Burns. The biography of the poet is complete unexpected turns and conflicting situations. Having moved to new town, the young man meets his future wife - Jane Arthur. However, her father, not approving the choice of his daughter, does not agree to the marriage. Desperate, Robert decides to leave for another country. Just at this time, he received an offer to work as an accountant in Jamaica. However, the plans were not destined to come true.

First success

At the same time, the first volume of his works was published, published in June 1786 in Kilmarnock. The book was a huge success. 20 pounds - this is the reward that Robert Burns received for his work. The biography of this poet is truly extremely unpredictable. In the same year, the young folklorist went to Edinburgh. It was there that he received the first, rather impressive amount for the copyright on his debut poetry collection. The poems of Robert Burns were praised by writers, and the writer himself was called the poetic hope of Scotland.

creative life

After this unexpected and overwhelming success, the famous folklorist makes several rather long trips around home country. He collects folk songs, composes poems and poems. Receiving absolutely no pay for his work, Burns simply considers it his happiness to be able to record and preserve ancient folklore. Over the years of wandering fell into decay.

After the publication of the third volume of poems, Burns goes to Elliszhevd. There he rents a new farm. By this time, he nevertheless married his beloved Jane, and they had several children. From that moment on, the writer worked as a tax collector and received a small salary, about 50 pounds a year. In 1791, he was offered to publish another collection, which included about a hundred essays.

Last years

Robert Burns, whose photo is presented on this page, did a pretty good job with his official duties. However, more and more often he is seen in drunk. He was subsequently expelled from literary society for the support revolutionary ideas. Since that time, Burns increasingly spends time in the company of revelers. The poet died in 1796 from a rheumatic attack. best poem Burns, according to literary critics, is "Merry Beggars". It depicts the life of outcasts of society revelers.

Burns' Poems in Russia

The first prose translation of the works of this famous Scottish poet appeared four years after his death, in 1800. Robert Burns became popular in the USSR thanks to the highly artistic translations of S.

Marshak. For the first time Samuil Yakovlevich turned to the work of the Scottish folklorist in 1924. From the mid-thirties, he began to engage in systematic translations of Burns's writings. The first collection of Russian-language poems and poems was published in 1947. In total, Samuil Yakovlevich translated about 215 works, which is ¼ of the entire heritage of the poet. Marshak's interpretations are far from the literal text, but they are distinguished by the simplicity and lightness of the language, as well as a special emotional mood close to Burns's writings. AT periodicals every now and then there are articles devoted to the work of this talented folklorist. The eminent Russian cultural figure V. Belinsky was engaged in a deep study of the works of Burns. It should be noted that in youth the translation of the quatrains of the Scottish poet was done by Mikhail Lermontov. On the centenary of the death of the poet in Russia, the publishing house of A. Suvorin published collections of poems and poems by Robert Burns.

Songs

It should be noted that many of the works of this popular poet were reworkings of melodies from folk songs.

His poems are characterized by melody and rhythm. It is not surprising that the author of the texts of many well-known in Russia musical compositions is Robert Burns. Songs based on his poems were once written by such famous Soviet composers as G. Sviridov and D. Shostakovich. The repertoire includes a cycle of vocal works based on poems by Burns. His texts formed the basis of many compositions created by Mulyavin for the Pesnyary VIA. The Moldovan group "Zdob Si Zdub" also performed a song based on the text of Burns "You left me". The folk group "Melnitsa" wrote the music for his ballad "Lord Gregory" and the poem "Highlander". Very often songs based on the verses of this famous foreign poet used in TV movies. I would especially like to highlight the romance from the film “Hello, I am your aunt”, called “Love and Poverty”. This song was performed talented actor In the film "Office Romance" another song was sounded, the author of the text of which is R. Burns - "There is no peace in my soul."

For a year, his father rented the Mount Oliphant farm, and the boy had to work on an equal basis with adults, enduring hunger and other hardships. From the age of Robert begins to compose poetry in the Ayshire dialect. In the year the father dies, and after a series failed attempts to do agriculture Robert and his brother Gilbert move to Mossgil. Burns' first book is published in the year, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish dialect("Poems predominantly in the Scottish dialect"). To initial period Creativity also includes: "John Barleycorn" (John Barleycorn, I782), "Merry Beggars" ("The Jolly Beggars", 1785), "The Prayer of St. Willie" ("Holy Willie "s Prayer"), "Holy Fair" ( The Holy Fair, 1786. The poet quickly became known throughout Scotland.

About the origins of the popularity of Burns, I. Goethe noted:

Let's take Burns. Isn’t he great because the old songs of his ancestors lived in the mouths of the people, that they were sung to him, so to speak, even when he was in the cradle, that as a boy he grew up among them and became related to the high perfection of these samples, which he found in them living basis, relying on which could go further? And yet, is he not great because his own songs immediately found receptive ears among his people, that they then sounded towards him from the lips of reapers and sheaf knitters, because they greeted his cheerful comrades in the tavern? This is where something could have happened.
Johann Peter Eckermann. Gespräche mit Goethe in den letzten Jahren seines Lebens. Leipzig, 1827.

In 1787, Burns moved to Edinburgh and became a member of the high society of the capital. In Edinburgh, Burns met the popularizer of Scottish folklore James Johnson, with whom they began to publish the collection "The Scot's Musical Museum". In this publication, the poet published many Scottish ballads in his own processing and his own works.

Published books bring Burns a certain income. He tried to invest his royalties into renting a farm, but only lost his small capital. The main source of livelihood from 1791 was work as a tax collector in Damfis.

Robert Burns led a fairly free lifestyle and had three illegitimate daughters from casual and short-lived relationships. In 1787, he married his longtime lover Jean Armor. In this marriage he had five children.

In the period 1787-1794 were created famous poems"Tam o" Shanter "(" Tarn o "Shanter", 1790) and " honest poverty"("For A "That and A" That", 1795), "Ode dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Oswald" ("Ode, sacred to the Memory of Mrs. Oswald", 1789).

In essence, Burns was forced to engage in poetry in between his main work. Last years he spent in need and a week before his death almost ended up in a debtor's prison

The main dates of the poet's life

January 25 Robert Burns is born
Robert and brother go to school
move to Mount Oliphant Farm
Robert writes the first poems
move to lochley farm
father's death, moving to Mossgil
Robert meets Jean, "Merry Beggars", "Field Mouse" and many other poems are written
Burns transfers the rights to the Mossgil farm to his brother; the birth of twins; trip to Edinburgh
reception of the poet in the Grand Lodge of Scotland; the first Edinburgh edition of the poems is published; trips in scotland
excise job
assignment to the Port Inspectorate
second Edinburgh edition of the poems in two volumes
december severe burns disease
21 July death of Robert Burns
July 25 funeral, the same day the fifth son of Burns, Maxwell, was born

Burns language

monument to the poet in London

Burns, although trained in rural school, but his teacher was a man with a university education - John Murdoch (Murdoch, 1747-1824). Scotland then experienced the peak of national revival, was one of the most cultural corners of Europe, there were five universities in it. Under Murdoch's direction, Burns was involved in, among other things, the poetry of Alexander Pope (Pope). As the manuscripts testify, literary English language Burns spoke impeccably, but the use of Scottish (a northern dialect of English, as opposed to Gaelic - Celtic Scots) was a conscious choice of the poet.

"Burns stanza"

Burns is associated with special form stanzas: six lines according to the scheme AAABAB with shortened fourth and sixth lines. A similar scheme is known in medieval lyrics, in particular, in Provencal poetry (since the 11th century), but since the 16th century its popularity has faded. It survived in Scotland, where it was widely used before Burns, but is associated with his name and is known as the "Burns stanza", although its official name is the standard gabby, it comes from the first work that glorified this stanza in Scotland - "Elegy on death Gabby Simpson, Piper of Kilbarhan" (c. 1640) by Robert Sempill of Beltris; "gabby" is not a proper name, but a nickname for the natives of the town of Kilbarhan in Western Scotland. This form was also used in Russian poetry, for example, in Pushkin's poems "Echo" and "Collapse".

Burns in Russia

The first Russian translation of Burns (prose) appeared already in the city - four years after the death of the poet, but Burns's work became famous for the pamphlet “A Rural Saturday Evening in Scotland” published in the city. Free imitation of R. Borns by I. Kozlov. Numerous responses appeared in periodicals, and in the same year, the first Russian literary article by N. Polevoy "On the life and works of R. Borns" appeared. Subsequently, V. Belinsky was engaged in the work of Burns. In the library of A. Pushkin there was a two-volume book by Burns. A youthful translation of Burns's quatrain, made by M. Lermontov, is known. T. Shevchenko defended his right to create in the "non-literary" (exclusively Russian was meant as a literary) Ukrainian language, citing Burns as an example, writing in Scottish English:

But Borntz still sings the great folk song.
Unpublished works of Shevchenko. 1906.

It was the Soviet "philatelic personalities" that prompted the British postal department to break the age-old tradition. For more than a hundred years, British stamps have printed exclusively portraits of the king or queen. On April 23, 1964, a portrait of an uncrowned Englishman, William Shakespeare, first appeared on an English stamp. It would seem that the great playwright, who was once called "scaffold shaker", became a shaker of the foundations of English philately. However, as Emrys Hughes, a member of the British Parliament, testifies, this honor belongs to soviet stamp. It all started with a portrait of Robert Burns.

“In 1959,” writes E. Hughes, “I happened to be present in Moscow at the anniversary evening dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns. When the solemn part ended, the Soviet Minister of Communications approached me and handed me an envelope with stamps. Each of the stamps featured a portrait of a Scottish bard. Frankly, I experienced at that moment a keen sense of shame. The minister, of course, felt quite legitimate pride: still, stamps with a portrait of Burns were issued in Russia, but not in England! I was ready to fall through the ground, although it was not my fault. In order not to suffer from the consciousness of hurt national pride alone, I decided to shame the then Prime Minister of England, Harold Macmillan, since he was also in Moscow at that time. At a reception at the British embassy, I gave him my present - two stamps with a portrait of Burns. Looking at them in bewilderment, Macmillan asked: What is this? “Russian stamps issued in honor of Burns,” I replied. “You can stick them on an envelope and send a letter to our Postmaster General saying that Russia has overtaken the UK in this matter.”

The acute episode was not in vain. This is convincingly evidenced by the strange release date of the first English brand with a portrait of Burns. It appeared on the day... the 207th anniversary of the poet's birth.

It seems most likely that all of the campaigns listed above, rather than any one of them, played a role in promoting the urgent need for the British Post Office to issue a postage stamp in memory of Robert Burns.

Some editions of the poet in Russian

Burns R. In the mountains my heart: Songs, ballads, epigrams in trans. S. Marshak / R. Burns; Foreword Y. Boldyreva; Grav. V. Favorsky. M.: Det. lit.-1971.-191s.
Burns R. Poems translated by S. Marshak. / R. Burns; Note. M. Morozova; Designed artistic V.Dobera.-M.: Artist. lit.-1976.-382s.
Burns R. Robert Burns in the translations of S. Marshak: [Songs, ballads, poems, epigrams] / R. Burns; Comp. R. Wright; Per. S. Ya. Marshak, R. Wright; Il. V. A. Favorsky.-M.: Pravda, 1979.-271c.: ill., 1 sheet of portrait-Comment.: p.262-266.
Burns R. Poems: Per. from English / Comp. S. V. Moleva; Per. S. Ya. Marshak.-L.: Lenizdat, 1981.-175c.: 1 p. portrait - (School library).
Robert Burns. Poems. Collection. Comp. I. M. Levidov. In English. and Russian lang.-M.: Rainbow.-1982.-705 p.
Burns R. Selected / R. Burns; Comp., foreword. B. I. Kolesnikova.-M.: Mosk. worker.-1982.-254s., 1l. portrait
Burns R. Poems and songs / R. Burns; Per. from English. S. Ya. Marshak, V. Fedotov; Comp., auth. intro. Art. and comment. B. I. Kolesnikov; Grav. V. Favorsky.-M.: Det. lit.-1987.-175s.
Burns R. John Barleycorn / R. Burns; Comp. A. V. Pyatkovskaya; Per. Ya. I. Marshak, A. V. Pyatkovskaya. M.: Mirror M.-1998.-223c.: 1 p. portrait - (Names: XVIII Century / Ed. and comp. Malinovskaya N. R.).
Burns R. Collection poetry/ Entry. article, comp. and comment. E. V. Vitkovsky. - M.: Ripol Classic, 1999. - 704 p.
Burns R. Lyrics: Poems in the lane. S. Marshak/ R. Burns; Per. S. Ya. Marshak.-M.: Ed. "AST": Astrel: Olymp.-2000.-304c. etc. etc.

Russian bibliography

A. Elistratova. R. Burns. Critical biographical essay. M., 1957.
R. Ya. Wright-Kovalyova. Robert Burns. M., "Young Guard". 1965. 352 p., with illustrations. (“Life of Remarkable People”. A series of biographies. Issue 26 (276).)

Links

Burns, Robert in the library of Maxim Moshkov (Russian)
Robert Burns Country - Robert Burns' "official" website
Robert Burns. History of life (Russian)
Celebration of the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns in Moscow in 2009 (Russian)

Robert Burns(in the old Russian spelling Borns; Scots and English Robert Burns, Gaelic Raibeart Burns, 1759-1796) - British (Scottish) poet, folklorist, author of numerous poems and poems written in the so-called "plain Scottish" and English .

The birthday of Robert Burns, January 25, is a national holiday in Scotland, celebrated with a gala dinner (Burns Night or Burns supper) with the traditional order of the dishes sung by the poet (the main one is a hearty haggis pudding), brought to the music of the Scottish bagpipes and preceded by reading the corresponding verses of Burns ( the pre-dinner prayer “The Selkirk Grace” (“Healthy toast (Scott. [[: sco: The Selkirk Grace|The Selkirk Grace]])” in Russian translation by S.Ya. Marshak) and “Ode to Haggis” - Russian. An ode to Scottish Haggis Pudding. Also, this day is celebrated by fans of the poet's work around the world.

Biography

Robert Burns was born on January 25, 1759 in the village of Alloway (three kilometers south of the city of Ayr, Ayrshire), the son of a peasant, William Burness (William Burness, 1721-1784). In 1765, his father rented the Mount Oliphant farm, and the boy had to work on an equal basis with adults, enduring hunger and other hardships. In 1781, Burns joined the Masonic lodge; Freemasonry had a strong influence on his work. From 1783, Robert began to compose poetry in the Ayshire dialect. In 1784, his father died, and after a series of unsuccessful attempts to engage in agriculture, Robert and his brother Gilbert moved to Mossgil. In 1786, Burns's first book, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish dialect, was published. The initial period of creativity also includes: John Barleycorn (John Barleycorn, 1782), The Jolly Beggars (1785), Holy Willie's Prayer, Holy Fair ("The Holy Fair", 1786). The poet is quickly becoming known throughout Scotland.

In 1787, Burns moved to Edinburgh and became a member of the high society of the capital. In Edinburgh, Burns met the popularizer of Scottish folklore, James Johnson, with whom they began to publish the collection The Scot's Musical Museum. In this edition, the poet published many Scottish ballads in his own adaptation and his own works.

Autograph

Robert Burns led a rather free life, and he had three illegitimate daughters from casual and short-lived relationships. In 1787, he married his longtime lover Jean Armor. In this marriage he had five children.

In the period 1787-1794, the famous poems "Tam o' Shanter" ("Tam o' Shanter", 1790) and "Honest Poverty" ("A Man's A Man For A’ That”, 1795), “Ode dedicated to the memory of Mrs. Oswald” (“Ode, sacred to the Memory of Mrs. Oswald”, 1789). In a poem dedicated to John Anderson (1789), the thirty-year-old author unexpectedly reflects on the slope of life, on death.

In fact, Burns was forced to engage in poetry in between main job. He spent the last years in need and a week before his death he almost ended up in a debtor's prison.

Burns died on July 21, 1796 in Dumfries, where he left already sick on official business 2 weeks before his death. He was only 37 years old. According to 19th-century biographers, one of the causes of Burns' sudden death was excessive drinking. Historians of the 20th century are inclined to believe that Burns died from the consequences of a severe physical labor in his youth and congenital rheumatic heart disease, which in 1796 was aggravated by the diphtheria he had suffered.

The main dates of the poet's life

1765 - Robert and his brother go to school.

1766 move to Mount Oliphant Farm.

1774 - Robert writes the first poems.

1777 move to Lochley Farm.

July 4, 1781 - Initiated into the Brotherhood of Freemasons in St. David's Lodge No. 174, Tarbolton.

1784 - death of his father, moving to Mossgil.

1785 - Robert meets Jean, "Merry Beggars", "Field Mouse" and many other poems are written.

1786 - Burns transfers the rights to the Mossgil farm to his brother; the birth of twins; trip to Edinburgh.

1787 - reception of the poet in the Grand Lodge of Scotland; the first Edinburgh edition of the poems is published; trips in Scotland.

1789 - work excise.

1792 - appointment to the port inspection.

1793 second Edinburgh edition of the poems in two volumes.

December 1795 - Burns is in serious condition, possibly related to the extraction of teeth.

Burns language

Although Burns studied at a rural school, his teacher was a man with a university education - John Murdoch (Murdoch, 1747-1824). Scotland then experienced the peak of national revival, was one of the most cultural corners of Europe, there were five universities in it. Under Murdoch's direction, Burns worked on, among other things, the poetry of Alexander Pope. As evidenced by the manuscripts, Burns was impeccable in literary English (he wrote The Villager's Saturday Evening, Sonnet to the Thrush, and some other poems in it). The use of Scottish (“dialect” of English in most works, in contrast to the Gaelic - Celtic Scottish language) is a conscious choice of the poet, declared in the title of the first collection “Poems predominantly in the Scottish dialect”.

"Burns stanza"

A special form of the stanza is associated with the name of Burns: a six-line AAABAB scheme with shortened fourth and sixth lines. A similar scheme is known in medieval lyrics, in particular, in Provencal poetry (since the 11th century), but since the 16th century its popularity has faded. It survived in Scotland, where it was widely used before Burns, but is associated with his name and is known as the "Burns stanza", although its official name is the standard gabby, it comes from the first work that glorified this stanza in Scotland - "Elegy on death Gabby Simpson, Piper of Kilbarhan" (c. 1640) by Robert Sempill of Beltris; "gabby" is not a proper name, but a nickname for the natives of the town of Kilbarhan in Western Scotland. This form was also used in Russian poetry, for example, in Pushkin's poems "Echo" and "Collapse".

Burns translations in Russia

The first Russian translation of Burns (prose) appeared as early as 1800 - four years after the death of the poet, but Burns's work was brought to fame by the pamphlet A Rural Saturday Evening in Scotland, published in 1829. Free imitation of R. Borns by I. Kozlov. Numerous responses appeared in periodicals, and in the same year, the first Russian literary article by N. Polevoy "On the life and works of R. Burns" appeared. Subsequently, V. Belinsky was engaged in the work of Burns. The library had a two-volume Burns. In 1831, a poem by V. Zhukovsky "Confession of a cambric handkerchief" appeared (but was published only 70 years later) - a free arrangement of the same "John Barleycorn". A youthful translation of Burns's quatrain is known. T. Shevchenko defended his right to create in the “non-literary” (exclusively Russian was meant as a literary) Ukrainian language, cited Burns as an example, writing in the Scottish dialect of English: “But Borntz still sings folk and great” (preface to the unrealized edition “ Kobzar").

Songs, ballads, poems (Russian)

Poems in English with translation (material taken from the site

Robert Burns (January 25, 1759 – July 21, 1796) was a Scottish poet, folklorist, and author of numerous works written in Plain Scottish. On his birthday - January 25 - in Scotland it is customary to prepare a gala dinner with several dishes, which must certainly follow in the order in which they were mentioned by the poet in the poem. The whole event is accompanied by traditional bagpipe melodies and readings of Burns' most famous quatrains.

Childhood

Robert Burns was born on January 25 in the village of Alloway, located near the city of Ayr, Ayrshire, into a peasant family. His mother died in childbirth, so only his father was involved in raising his son. However, Robert's childhood cannot be called happy. In order to feed his family (Robert had younger brother Gilbert), his father had to rent the Mount Oliphant farm, where he began to work tirelessly.

And since Gilbert was still too small at that time, Robert soon had to join his father. Later, the poet confesses to his friends and colleagues that it was the most difficult childhood of all that he had heard and seen. The boy worked day and night, growing grain, fruits and vegetables. AT daylight hours day and night he was in the field, and with the onset of night, having rested only a couple of hours at sunset, he began to clean the stables and stables, where his father kept cattle for sale and work. Hellish work, of course, left an indelible mark on the boy's heart and subsequently reflected more than once in his works.

Youth and the beginning of a poetic career

As a young man, Robert first begins to write poetry. Despite all the hardships and hardships, they come out quite bright and even naive, but the young talent is embarrassed to show them to anyone, because he is an ordinary peasant boy without education.

In 1784, Robert experiences his first loss. His father dies, leaving the entire household to his two sons. However, after a few months, both young men realize that they are not able to do anything on their own, since they are practically not trained in the conduct of such a household, apart from the dirtiest, menial cleaning work. So they sell Mount Oliphant and move to a town called Mossgil.

There their paths separate. Robert joins the Masonic lodge, which will subsequently affect his work, and brother Gilbert marries one girl and becomes the owner of one of the taverns, which is quickly gaining popularity due to the openness, hospitality and good nature of its owner.

It is here, in Mossgil, that the first works of Robert Burns are published: "John Barleycorn", "Holy Fair", "Merry Beggars" and "Poems mainly in the Scottish dialect". It is thanks to them that young talent is known throughout Scotland.

Moving and going to high society

In 1787, at the insistence of one of his best friends, Robert moved to Edinburgh, where he was introduced to people from high society. Despite the fact that in other cities a young and talented guy was quite popular, here in Edinburgh, only a few knew about him, which could not but upset the poet. He begins to get to know influential people, the first of which is James Johnson. Very soon Robert becomes aware that his new best friend all his life he has been collecting legends, poems and any folklore of Scotland. Seeing in a man your soul mate, Burns invites him to unite and create something like a Scottish cycle. This is how their joint creation “The Scottish Musical Museum” is born, where friends try to collect the most famous motifs and poems from several eras.

Thanks to the same Jones, Robert Burns is also known in Edinburgh, and his poems and cycles of stories diverge in hundreds of copies. This allows the poet to collect a small fee, which he passionately wants to invest in renting one of the estates, as his father did in the past. But, unfortunately, the naive Burns is fooled, and after an unsuccessful deal, he loses the money he earned, left penniless. After that, he works for a long time as an excise tax collector, sometimes goes hungry and several times miraculously escapes from debtor's prison.

Throughout his life, Robert Burns manages to write and publish many works that bring him fame. Among them, the most popular are “Ode, dedicated to memory Mrs. Oswald" (1789), "Tam o'Shanter" (1790), "Honest Poverty" (1795) and many others.

Personal life

Despite the fact that the poet spent half his life in a decent high society, his manners were far from ideal. In particular, this concerned personal life. Robert Burns was a rather dissolute and freedom-loving man who knew how and loved to use moments of glory. So, he started a lot of office romances, three of which ended in the appearance of illegitimate children. However, Burns never thought about them and even stopped communicating with their mothers immediately after the birth of their children. Such was the nature of genius.

In 1787, Robert Burns meets the girl Jean Armor - the first love, which he was passionate about as a teenager. After a short romance, they get married, and five children are born in the marriage.

Perhaps there is no poet in the world who would have been so known and sung for two centuries in his native country. The lines of his best poems became slogans. His words became part of sayings and proverbs. His songs returned to the people. This is how critics wrote about the Scottish poet Robert Burns.

The Life and Works of Robert Burns

He was born on January 25, 1759 in Western Scotland. His father was a gardener. After many years of service in noble estates, he rented a piece of land, built a house and by the age of 40 married a 25-year-old orphan, modest and hardworking Agnes Brown. Regretting his lack of education all his life, William, along with other farmers, hired a teacher, Murdoch, in a neighboring village, who taught his children to read and write for two and a half years. Brooding beyond his years, six-year-old Robert Burns was a first at spelling and amazed everyone with his exceptional memory.

A year later, the family changed their place of residence, moving to another farm. The Burnses lived in seclusion, devoted most of their time to work, and in the evenings, the father worked with the children on grammar and arithmetic. These lessons were not enough for the capable Robert, and William again sent his son to study with Murdoch. In a few weeks, Robert mastered grammar, began to study French. However, after a couple of months, the young man had to return to the farm - they could not cope without him.

While harvesting bread, 14-year-old Burns fell in love with a girl who worked with him, Nellie Kilpatrick, and composed his first song for her. “That is how love and poetry began for me,” he later wrote. At the age of 15, his father sent Robert to a surveying school, located in one of the fishing villages. There the young man saw another pretty girl. New passionate poems were written for her. I had to leave school after a year. The family moved to a new farm that needed to be raised again.

For a whole week, Robert plowed the land, and on Sundays he ran away from home boredom, went to dance lessons and to the tavern, whose visitors loved Burns for his poems about the life of farmers. At 22, he entered the Masonic lodge, in the charter of which he was attracted by the clauses on equality and mutual assistance to all brothers, regardless of origin. In the same year, Burns read Fergusson's Scottish poetry and realized that his native language, which the British considered a vulgar dialect, is no worse than any literary language.

In 1784, after the death of the head of the family, the Burns moved again. Here, 25-year-old Robert fell in love with the maid Betty, who bore him a daughter. Burns did not intend to marry, but said that he would raise the girl himself. He later met the daughter of a wealthy contractor, Jean Arvar. Young people secretly, according to an old custom, signed a contract in which they recognized themselves as husband and wife. When her parents found out that Jean was pregnant, they forced her to leave town.

Proud Robert considered this a betrayal on the part of the girl, and for a long time refused to see her. When she gave birth to twins, he took his son to him. The weak girl Armora was left in her family. She later died. At this time, Robert's songs interested one landowner. With his assistance, in July 1786, the first collection of Burns was published with the poems "Two Dogs" and "Saturday Evening of a Peasant". Within a week, the 27-year-old poet-farmer became famous.

He visited Edinburgh, where he impressed secular society with his upbringing and education. The metropolitan publisher Kritch offered him to release a second collection, promised a decent reward, but paid only part of it. At the age of 39, after much torment, Robert married his beloved Jean and settled with her on the Elysland farm. He decided to embark on the path of virtue, but one day he fell in love with the innkeeper's niece Anna. Later he confessed to his wife that Anna gave birth to a girl from him and died in childbirth. Jean took the baby and raised her as her own.

The land did not bring income to Burns, and he secured a place as an excise official. He combined official duties with poetry. Over the years, Burns has collected old Scottish songs. On July 21, 1796, Burns passed away. After the funeral, Jean gave birth to her fifth son. Thanks to the poet's influential admirers, his wife and children subsequently did not need anything.

A certain Dr. Kerry, a man of strict rules, created a biography of Burns, interpreting many facts in his own way, depicting the poet as a rake and a drunkard. Only later researchers brought clarity to the biography of the Scottish bard.