Robert Burns: The Ploughman Poet in No Man´s Land

G ao en Lingua e Li e a u a Inglesas
T aballo de Fin de G ao
Robe Bu ns:
The Ploughman Poe in No Man´s Land
Isabel López López
Supe ised by Lau a Lojo Rod íguez
Uni e sidade de San iago de Compos ela
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FACULTADE DE FILOLOX A
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Fo mula io de delimi ación de
í ulo
e esumo
T aballo
de
Fin
de
G ao
cu so
2018/2019
APELIDOS
E NOME:
López
López,
Ma ía Isabel
GRAO
EN:
Lingua e Li e a u a Ingle
sa
(NO
CASO
DE
MODERNAS)
MENCIÓN
EN
:
TITOR/A: Lau a Ma ía Lojo Rod íguez
LIÑ
A
TEMÁTICA
ASIGNADA
: Li e a u a ingle
sa
SOLICITO
a ap obación do seguin e í ulo e esumo:
Tí ulo: Robe Bu ns: The Ploughman Poe in No
Man's
Land
Resumo
Conside ed by some c i ics and schola s
as
one
o
he
pionee s
o
he
Roman ic mo emen in B i ain,
o he s, howe e , ha e ailed
o
acknowledge his w i e 's con ibu ion
as
a oman ic poe lea ing him
in no man's land. A qua e
o
a millennium a e his bi h, Sco ish poe Robe Bu ns,
' he
man
o
independen mind',
is
s ill s uggling
o
ind his space in
he
li e a y canon.
Was
Robe Bu ns bo n in
he
w ong place a
he
w ong
ime
as o
be eligible
o
he
label
o
oman ic
poe
wi hin
he
B i ish adi ion?
l
ha
was he
case,
did his wo k
be
long
oa
Sco ish adi ion whose
dis inc i e aes he ic ea u es would ha e disca ded his poe y om ully
i ing
in
he
Roman ic
mo emen in B i ain despi e so ne conspicuous simila i ies? This disse a ion will aim
o
ind a
plausible answe
o
hese ques ions by looking
in o
ele an socio-poli ical aspec s, pe sonal
expe iences and li e a y in luences
ha
migh ha e helped shape Bu ns's s yle, and which would
ul ima ely allow
o
de e mine
o
wha
ex en his poe ic p oduc ion complies
wi h
he
Roman ic canon.
William Wo dswo h and Samuel Taylo Cole idge's Roman ic mani es o P e ace
o
Ly ica/ Bal/ads
(1800)
as
a majo exponen
o o mal,
aes he ic and ideological aspec s pe aining
o
Roman ic poe y
will be
he
amewo k
o
my
analysis in
o de
o
assess
he
oman ic quali y
o
Bu ns's
se
lec ed poe ic
wo k, while The Ba d (2009), P o esso Robe C aw o d's comp ehensi e biog aphy on Robe Bu ns,
will se e
as
he
s a ing
poin
o
comp ehend
he
complexi y
o
he
ploughman
poe
and
his ime.
San iago
de
Compos ela,
30
de
ou ub o
de
2018.
SRA.
DECANA
DA
FACULTADE
DE
FILOLOXÍA
(P esiden a
da
Comisión
de
Tí ulos
de
G ao)
Sina u a
do/a
in e
e
sado/a
Vis o e p ace (sina u a
do/a
i o /a)
Ap obado
pola Comisión de Tí ulos
de
i-·
G ao con da a
Se
lo
S
RA
. D
EC
ANA
DA
FA
CULTA
DE DE
FIL
OLO
XÍA (P
es
id
e
n
a da C
omi
sión de Tí ulos de
G
ao)
Acknowledgemen s
W i ing his disse a ion would ha e been so much ha de wi hou he help and expe ise
o my supe iso , P o esso Lau a Lojo. Thank you, Lau a, o being so e icien and o
making me belie e in mysel , which is ne e an easy ask. I am also immensely g a e ul
o my classma es o hei in ini e pa ience wi h my echnological igno ance, and o
illing my li e wi h housands o happy memo ies.
To Angus

Table o Con en s
In oduc ion……………………………………………………………………………1
PART ONE: The Making o a Ploughman Poe ………………………………………. 5
1.1. A Poe is Bo n………………………………………………………………….5
1.2. Educa ion, Educa ion, Educa ion………………………………………………7
1.3. Rebel wi hou a Cause?......................................................................................10
1.4. The “D” Wo d………………………………………………………………….14
1.5. Robe Bu ns, I P esume?...................................................................................18
PART TWO: A Jou ney o No Man’s Land…………………………………………….23
2.1. Bu ns’s E ic ion om he B i ish T adi ion……………………………….......23
2.1.1. The In isible Poe in No Man’s Land…………………………….23
2.1.2. Bad Language…………………………………………………….25
2.2. Knocking on he Doo o he B i ish T adi ion………………………………...28
2.2.1. A G ea Alien T adi ion………………………………………......28
2.2.2. Los o Wo ds……………………………………………………32
2.3. A he Doo s ep o Roman icism…………………………………………........37
2.3.1. Long Los B o he ………………………………………………...37
2.3.2. May I Come in?..............................................................................44
Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………..48
Re e ences……………………………………………………………………………...53
P a g e | 1
In oduc ion
Janua y 25 h 1997: a da e I will no be likely o o ge . The e y i s ime I se oo in
Edinbu gh eady o s a a wo king expe ience on he Wes e n Isles was any hing bu an
une en ul day. Li le did I guess ha I had landed in Edinbu gh jus on ime o Bu ns
Nigh celeb a ions, and ha I should ha e known be e han o book a place o s ay. O
all he commo ion a ound Robe Bu ns, o he lack o i in some cases, I mus ha e been
ully awa e a yea la e when I inally managed o s ing mo e han wo cohe en sen ences
oge he . Since hen, li e go in he way, while Bu ns con inued o be a o al s ange ,
li e a ily speaking. Li le did I know ei he ha wen y- wo yea s la e I would e en ually
ha e he oppo uni y o dedica e some ime o lea n mo e abou he Sco ish ba d who
ma ked he beginning o an ex ao dina y li e expe ience in a o eign land ha became
my second home.
A qua e o a millennium a e his bi h, howe e , Robe Bu ns s ill seems a
om inding a es ing place whe e o se le in he li e a y canon. While o some
academics he ploughman poe would undoub edly be conside ed as p ecu so o he
Roman ic mo emen in B i ain, o he c i ics oppose his inclusion in he B i ish adi ion,
he e o e disca ding any possible links wi h English Roman icism. Indeed, i migh ha e
been he case ha Bu ns did ac ually o m pa o a dis inc Sco ish li e a y school clea ly
disassocia ed om he English adi ion, wi hou losing sigh , ne e heless, o he unique
his o ical con ex o pos -Union B i ain. This disse a ion aims a assessing he in iguing
dispa i y o c i ical opinions ela ing o his ques ion in an a emp o de e mine o wha
ex en Bu ns’s li e a y wo k may comply wi h he Roman ic canon, and, in his way, be
able o escue he ploughman poe om no man’s land.
Gi en he unp eceden ed socio-poli ical condi ions in mid-eigh een h cen u y
Sco land, along wi h he ma ked social cha ac e o mos o Bu n’s li e a y wo k, The
P a g e | 2
Ba d: Robe Bu ns, a Biog aphy (2009), P o esso Robe C aw o d’s comp ehensi e
biog aphy on Robe Bu ns, seemed an app op ia e s a ing poin o his wo k, which
helped un eil ele an episodes in he ploughman poe ’s colou ul li e while es ablishing
links wi h pe inen aspec s in Bu ns’s li e a y wo k, hus clea ing he pa h o assess he
poe ’s po en ial in eg a ion wi hin he B i ish adi ion. Likewise, Ch is Tab aham’s The
Illus a ed His o y o Sco land (2017) along wi h o he a icles including ela ed
in o ma ion ha e been also used as addi ional c i ical ma e ial o help in e wea e Bu ns’s
his o ical se ing, o ming connec ions wi h he subjec ma e as well as some unde lying
meanings o his poe y. Likewise, William Wo dswo h and Samuel T. Cole idge’s de
ac o Roman ic mani es o “P e ace” o Ly ical Ballads (1800), whose p ecep s ha e been
employed pe inen ly h oughou he disse a ion, has se ed as heo e ical amewo k o
analyse he oman ic quali y o Bu ns’s selec ed wo k whe e poe ic oice, linguis ic
egis e and subjec ma e a e conce ned. Addi ionally, he s udy o he di e en li e a y
iews and app oaches om academics such as Raymond Ben man, Da id Daiches and
Mu ay Pi ock has allowed o a mo e comp ehensi e examina ion o Bu ns’s poe y,
especially wi h espec o hose li e a y in luences which may ha e inspi ed he
ploughman poe ’s wo k.
The co pus he e examined encompasses some ele an agmen s o Bu ns’s
poe ic wo k, which ha e been employed wi h di e en pu poses in mind. In his way, he
selec ed ex ac s would aim a showing he connec ion be ween he his o ical con ex and
he subjec ma e o Bu ns’s poems, o a highligh ing a pa icula ele an ea u e, while
on o he occasions hese passages would be con as ed wi h o he li e a y wo ks o used
o assess hei compliance wi h he oman ic p ecep s as pos ula ed in he “P e ace” o
Ly ical Ballads. The selec ed co pus used h oughou he disse a ion is o med by “To a
Mouse”, “The Dea h and Dying Wo ds o Poo Mailie”, “Poo Mailie’s Elegy”, “Holy
P a g e | 3
Willie’s P aye ”, “The Fo nica o . A New Song”, “The Co e ’s Sa u day Nigh ”, “Tam
o’Shan e . A Tale”, “To a Moun ain Daisy”, “The Lass o’Ballochmyle”, “The Vision”,
“Man was Made o Mou n. A Di ge” and he “P e ace” o Poems, Chie ly W i en in he
Sco ish Dialec oge he wi h Wo dswo h’s b ie agmen s om “Lines W i en in
Ea ly Sp ing” and “To he Daisy”.
Despi e he ac ha his disse a ion is s uc u ed in wo majo pa s, I would like
o hink o hem as a con inuum a he han a di ision, he con en s o bo h sec ions
unc ioning as s epping s ones helping lead he way ha would allow o ind Bu ns a
sui able niche in he li e a y adi ion.
Pa one deals wi h all hose aspec s ha seem o ha e shaped Bu ns no only as
he ebellious pe son ha he was, bu also as he no less ebellious poe , hence my decision
o link, whene e possible, his li e expe ience wi h his li e a y wo k. A e a b ie
in oduc ion o Bu ns’s his o ical backg ound in pos -Union Sco land, bea ing in mind
ha o he pe inen con ex ual elemen s will also sp ing up in pa wo, he ocus would
be on he ploughman poe ’s educa ion in eigh een h-cen u y u al Lowland Sco land,
which migh help shed some ligh on he claims abou Bu ns’s allegedly poo command
o he English language, o some schola s a decisi e ac o when ying o ela e his wo k
o he B i ish adi ion. The ollowing wo sec ions would encompass eligious and
poli ical in luences ha begin o un old Bu ns’s mos un uly and adical, o , should we
say, democ a ic ace , which would also be cap u ed in his li e a y wo k, mos
impo an ly, in he use o he e nacula . The las sec ion would in oduce ye ano he
su p ising side o he ploughman poe : his chameleonic disposi ion and ema kable
decei ing skills, bo h in li e and in w i ing. Bu ns’s complex pe sonali y, also mi o ed
in his wo k, did no seem o go unno iced, and i was no long be o e epu ed igu es in
P a g e | 10
John Mu doch’s commen s on William Bu nes begin o e eal ce ain a ibu es ha lead
o belie e he was much mo e han an o dina y a me pu suing he bes o his child en:
“He spoke he English language wi h mo e p op ie y (bo h wi h espec o dic ion
and p onuncia ion) han any man I e e knew, wi h no g ea e ad an ages. This
had a e y good e ec on he boys, who began o alk and eason like men much
soone han hei neighbou s” (C aw o d 2009: 37).
Despi e no being able o a end high school o uni e si y, (Bu ns exp essed his
dis us owa d college alleging he would ha e been compelled o u n away om his
e nacula ) (C aw o d 2009: 52, 66), he ploughman poe lea n F ench and some La in
and s udied as onomy, wo ld geog aphy and English g amma as pa o his o mal
educa ion. He was also acquain ed wi h mos o he majo con empo a y English au ho s,
apa om Mil on, D yden and Shakespea e. In poin o ac , his Anglocen ic o mal
educa ion had no oom o Sco ish li e a u e, aside om olk songs and ales ha he
would ha e lea n om his mo he (Daiches 1963: 13). Despi e no being ecognized by
his i s c i ics, Bu ns would show aces in his wo k o his eading o English w i e s
such as Pope, G ey o Shens one (Low 1972: 6), which, once mo e, makes us wonde no
only o wha ex en Robe Bu ns’s command o English could be conside ed below he
pa , bu also o wha poin his li e a y wo k would ha e been de ached om he B i ish
adi ion.
1.3. Rebel wi hou a Cause?
The u h is, he mo e one eads abou Robe Bu ns, he mo e dispa and, some imes,
colou ul depic ions seem o su ace a ound he ploughman poe ’s pe sona. Don Pa e son
(2010: 7) men ions he a he “complex” and somehow an i he ical pe sonali y o a man

P a g e | 11
seen bo h as a womanise and a igh e o women’s igh s, a humble a me and a mo e
e ined and cosmopoli an ci izen du ing his ime in Edinbu gh, an egali a ian and, ye ,
also someone willing o se o o he wes Indies and be pa o he colonizing en e p ise.
Howe e , Pa e son is pe ec ly unambiguous when a i ming ha Bu ns could ha e been
many o hose hings, bu ne e a ‘hea en- augh ploughman’. In addi ion o his less han
s aigh o wa d pe sonali y, Bu ns’s esen men owa ds au ho i y, pa ly as a esul o
his a he ’s un ai ea men as a enan a me , also con ibu ed o his adicalisa ion and
his de ian a i ude agains wha Pa e son conside s “all enemies o eedom” (2010: 7).
Indeed, eedom, as Philip Bu che (1949: 16) ema ks, consis en ly uled Bu ns’s li e
and poe y in such a way ha , wi hou explici ly exp essing any sen imen o class
opp ession and subo dina ion, he managed, ne e heless, o shou abou social
disc imina ion. Whe e eligion is conce ned, he Cal inis ki k also ecei ed i s ai sha e
o c i icism in his poe y. In ac , Bu ns is hough o ha e been one o he mos ou spoken
de ac o s o o hodox P esby e ianism in Sco land a ha ime.
Con a y o wha migh be assumed, G. Ross Roy indica es ha Robe Bu ns
was, by no means, ‘an i- eligious’, bu simply an i-hypoc i ical wi h espec o he mos
igid ac ions o Cal inism. While new winds we e blowing in he chu ch om mo e
mode a e a i udes inspi ed by he Sco ish Enligh enmen , in he wes e n Lowlands s ill
many pa ishione s we e eluc an o emb ace his “new di ini y”, and deemed i s
chu chmen he e ics (Roy 1997: 99). This mo e bene olen body o cle gy ad oca ed o
he ele ance o e hical alues and ole ance, which ce ainly sui ed Bu ns’s cha ac e
be e (B ekke 2010: 79, 82). Such alues we e epi omised in he pe son o local Ki k
minis e William Dal ymple, whom much less libe al William Bu nes also held in high
ega d. Dal ymple would play a salien ole in shaping Bu ns’s con ic ions and eligious
belie s h oughou his adul li e, ea u ing in some o his poems as is “The Holy Tulzie”
P a g e | 12
(C aw o d 2009: 32). Apa om his clea a ini y wi h mode a e Cal inism, Bu ns had
mo e han enough easons o ebel agains he old cle ical o de a e being accused wice
o o nica ion, and su e ing public penance in on o he whole cong ega ion (Roy
1997: 99). The sin o o nica ion mean ha males alongside hei emale pa ne s in c ime
we e o ake he “sea o epen ance” o “cu y s ool”, and be publicly ep imanded. Bu ns
had o accep he punishmen and pay his ine, bu emained unde e ed and p oceeded by
dedica ing some celeb a o y e ses o his sin ul ac as i i we e a ema kable
achie emen . The poem in ques ion, “The Fo nica o . A New Song”, was ne e published
in Bu ns’s li e ime, bu i did sp ead among his local communi y:
Be o e he Cong ega ion wide
I pass’d he mus e ai ly,
My handsome Be y by my side,
We ga ou di y a ely;
Bu my downcas eye by chance did spy
Wha made my lips o wa e ,
Those limbs so clean whe e I ,be ween,
Commenc’d a Fo nica o
(Bu ns 1993: 50)
In he end, Bu ns did no ma y Elizabe h Pa on, “Be sie” (Roy 1997:99; C aw o d 2009:
168, 169).
Keeping in une wi h his line o a ack agains Cal inis hypoc isy is Bu ns’s poem
“Holy Willie’s P aye ”, conside ed by Da id Daiches “ he g ea es o all sa i ic poems
P a g e | 13
and one o he g ea e se sa i es o all ime” (Daiches 1994: 825). The cha ac e o Holy
Willie, one o God’s elec s, embodies he idea o p edes ina ion used wi h sexual desi e,
Willie being uly con inced ha his lus is jus a me e way o God o emind him he is
a man in spi e o his less han espec able beha iou (Daiches 1994: 826). In ac , Holy
Willie seems o be no o he han elde and local a me William Fishe , Bu ns’s neighbou
and one o his iends’ enemies, al hough Willie may also be in e p e ed as a
ep esen a ion Bu ns’s p omiscui y. In essence, his d ama ic monologue, w i en, ye
again, in e nacula , symbolises he Cal inis c eed whe eby hose chosen o sal a ion
would be spa ed om damna ion, which ul ima ely ansla es, unde Bu ns’s own
endi ion, in o a s a e o o al immuni y. This p o oca i e in e p e a ion mean a head-on
a ack agains Cal inism, and se ala m bells inging among ki kmen, who el compelled
o hold a se ies o mee ings o de e mine he le el o p o ani y o he poem. “Holy Willie”,
which was o be published pos humously, “The Dea h and Dying Wo ds o Poo Mailie”,
“To a Mouse” and “The Fo nica o . A New Song” illus a e how Bu ns used he common
li e o his local u al communi y as sou ce o inspi a ion o his poems, as well as a way
o a icula e his mos inne eelings (C aw o d 2009: 171, 173, 175, 177). Jus as William
Wo dswo h payed ibu e o Bu ns’s linguis ic spon anei y, he use o common li e as an
inspi a ional subjec seems o be as en ailed in hei “P e ace” o Ly ical Ballads (1800).
One canno bu ag ee ha “Holy Willie” has ce ainly he powe o “make hese inciden s
and si ua ions in e es ing” (Wo dswo h 1998: 357), i no con o e sial, “low and us ic
li e” (Wo dswo h 1998: 357) being he p ima y sou ce o inspi a ion o he ploughman
poe . Acco ding o Wal Whi man, Bu ns appea s o possess he abili y o deal wi h
na u e, people o lo e in a simple manne , wi hou a i ice, which se s him apa om
many con empo a y poe s (Whi man 1886: 431). Likewise, Bu ns a oids he depic ion o
“pe soni ica ions o abs ac ideas” (Wo dswo h 1998: 359) and by his use o he
P a g e | 14
e nacula he also manages o “b ing [his] language nea o he eal language o men”
(Wo dswo h 1998: 360). While his ca ee as an occasional poe con inued o de elop,
Bu ns p og essi ely ea ed e se as a way o elease his emo ions wi h ega d o social
ma e s, lo e o he alue o iendship, which, once mo e, seems o acco d wi h he idea
o poe y as “ he spon aneous o e low o powe ul eelings” (Wo dswo h 1998: 358)
pos ula ed in he “P e ace” o Ly ical Ballads (Daiches 1963: 16). So a , i appea s ha
he abo e selec ion o Bu ns’s poems comply, a leas on he su ace, wi h some o he
p ecep s pu o wa d by Wo dswo h and Cole idge in hei mani es o. Howe e ,
shouldn’ we pe haps asse mo e accu a ely ha he “P e ace” o Ly ical Ballads may
ha e been in luenced by Bu ns’s poe ic s yle as implied by Russell Noyes (1944: 830)?
E en so, would his cons i u e enough e idence as o sugges ha Bu ns’s poe y could
be, o some ex en , ela ed o he o igins o he Roman ic mo emen in England?
1.4. The “D” Wo d
No only does Bu ns w i e abou he communi y, bu also o he communi y. His poe y
and songs a ge a ai ly la ge audience o common people, displaying his sympa hy o
hose opp essed by u hless landlo ds o subjec o poli ical o eligious y anny in a
simple and s aigh o wa d manne . Fa mo e han ha , his w i ings encompass humani y
as a whole ega dless age o na ionali y, eedom being his ue mo i a ion, and
“democ acy” he wo d used by many when alluding o Bu ns’s wo k (Bu che 1919: 265,
268; Wha ley 2011: 656; Whi man 1885: 431). While his eligious sa i es and o he
poems o social p o es clea ly un old he poe ’s egali a ian p inciples, his ue democ a ic
spi i would be bes epi omised by his poli ical poems (Bu che 1919: 270), mi o ing he
umul uous imes ha Eu ope and Ame ica we e endu ing in ha e a. In ac , as Sco ish
P a g e | 15
w i e and edi o J.G. Lockha s a es, Bu ns’s li e a y con ibu ion as a B i ish, and,
abo e all, a Sco ish poe , could no ha e aken place a a be e ime, his o ically speaking
(Low 1974: 343). Wi hou losing sigh o he F ench and Ame ican e olu ions, Sco land
was expe iencing i s own poli ical ans o ma ion a ha e y same ime (Whi man 1886:
427).
Jus o e hal a cen u y be o e he ploughman poe was bo n, he Union o
Pa liamen s had ecei ed qui e a hos ile welcome in ci ies like Glasgow o Edinbu gh,
while he ollowing yea s would be wi ness o a se ies o unsuccess ul Jacobi e isings in
an a emp o es o e he House o S ewa , and, along wi h his, he independence o
Sco land. E en ually, i all ended in an o e whelming de ea in 1746 agains he
Hano e ian a my a he ba le o Culloden. Ne e heless, Jacobi ism ga e ise o a cul u al
and a is ic mo emen d i en by he idea o Sco land’s he oic pas as an independen
coun y, James Macphe son’s Poems o Ossian (1773) i ing pe ec ly in his spi i o
na ional a dou (She 2005: 157, 158, 161; Duncan, 2006). Bu ns could no help bu eel
p oud o his Jacobi e ances o s and he nos algic memo y o a ee Sco land, despising all
indi iduals who e e ed o B i ain as England, as well as hose Sco s who beha ed and
spoke as i hey we e English. Bu ns’s Jacobi e s eak, howe e , would ha e had mo e o
do wi h pa io ism han any poli ical allegiance wi h he House o S ewa . Despi e his
s ong sen imen s, Bu ns knew be e han o keep up appea ances, especially a e
becoming an exciseman; publicly, howe e , he would p e end o show his suppo o he
Hano e ian cause (C aw o d 2009: 17, 306, 311, 323; Pi ock 2008: 151). The e o e,
Bu ns’s usual display o a chameleonic beha iou p esen ing himsel bo h as a e en
Sco ish pa io in poems such as “The Co e ’s Sa u day Nigh ”, and as a ci izen o
B i ain, when a i ming “I am a B i on […] I am a man; and he igh s o human na u e

P a g e | 16
canno be indi e en o me”, appea s o be a smoke sc een o keep him ou o ouble
(Da ies 1998: 623, 624; Bu che 1949: 268).
E asions aside, Bu ns’s con o e sial poli ical iews seemed o know no bounda ies.
His ega d o he democ a ic aspi a ions o Ame ica an icipa es hose o William Blake,
becoming he i s Eu opean poe o be in luenced by hese ideals, and also he i s one
o include Ame ica in poe y in his song “A F agmen [Ballad on he Ame ican Wa ]”
while cle e ly ensu ing ha he always dange ous wo d “democ acy” was nowhe e o be
seen in his e ses (C aw o d 2009: 5, 146, 151). In spi e o he economic loss ha he
Ame ican Re olu ion in lic ed on he po own o Ay , Bu ns’s admi a ion o Geo ge
Washing on was such ha he e en da ed o compa e he Ame ican p esiden o na ional
he o William Wallace (C aw o d 2009: 151). Likewise, his a ini y wi h he o iginal
ideals o he F ench Re olu ion e y nea ly go him in o se ious ouble, when, sho ly
a e he F ench king had been execu ed, he would w i e: “Lay he p oud usu pe s low!
/Ty an s all in e e y oe! /Libe y’s in e e y blow, /Le us do o die!” (Ha ie 2014: 137).
I his we e no ebellious enough, p o oca i e Bu ns would also go as a as o
b and Louis XVI “a pe ju ed Blockhead” and Ma ie An oine e “an unp incipled
p os i u e” (Bu che 1949: 268). I should no come as a su p ise hen ha Bu ns’s
poli ical allegiances had been conside ed mo e adical han libe al unde he scope o
eigh een h-cen u y s anda ds, al hough no one knows exac ly o wha ex en , since all he
poems he hough o e ly con o e sial ne e ac ually saw he ligh (i is umou ed hey
we e disposed o by his amily a e he died).
Ne e heless, wha poems a e le show ha Bu ns emained in ouch wi h his people
and he ele an socio-poli ical e en s o his coun y (Bu che 1949: 272). Six y yea s
a e his dea h in 1796, Bu ns’s democ a ic legacy had con enien ly been app op ia ed
by Whigs and To ies alike, aking ad an age, so o speak, o he ambiguous na u e o his
P a g e | 17
poli ical posi ion, as is he case in “The Co e ’s Sa u day Nigh ”. The poem depic s a
humble u al amily ga he ed a home in he e ening while engaging in p aying and
eading he Sc ip u es. In he wo inal s anzas when a “Vi uous populace” ( he
peasan y) a e exho ed o ge o hei ee and “s and a wall o i e a ound hei much-
lo ’d ISLE,”, while God is begged “ne e , ne e ” o “Sco ia’s ealm dese ” (Bu ns 1993:
105) he poem un eils a pa io ic sen imen appealing o bo h Sco s and B i ons alike. In
addi ion, he idyllic u al scene e okes no only eelings o mo al i ue and in eg i y,
which would ce ainly sui he mo e conse a i e ci cles, bu also in oduces a s iking
con as wi h mid-Vic o ian o e c owded Sco ish ci ies, ep esen ing in his way he idea
o a “los A cadia” sough a e by mo e adical ac ions (Wha ley 2011: 626, 647, 649).
E en “To y” Wal e Sco , despi e his condescending a i ude owa ds “poo Bu ns”,
would p o ess his app ecia ion o Bu ns’s poe ic wo k, ma ching i wi h ha o mona chic
Shakespea e (Noyes, 1944: 832; Whi man 1886: 432), which seems o add ye mo e i ony
o he ma e .
Less poli ically ambiguous, howe e , did Bu ns e eal himsel in some o his songs.
Inspi ed by he s o y o William Wallace, whom he uly admi ed, “Sco s, wha hae” ga e
he ba d an oppo uni y o sing abou he Sco ish igh o “Libe y & Independance”[sic]
in imes when i would ha e been oo isky o speak ou . In ac , Jacobi e songs would
equen ly appea anonymously and e en needed o be decoded (C aw o d 2009: 368,
369; McGui k 2014: 1). As much as Wo dswo h p aised he human side o Bu ns’s
poe y, he did no seem o hold “Sco s, wha hae” (deemed by Vic o ian au ho Thomas
Ca lyle as “ he nobles ly ic in he language”) in high ega d, and dismissed i as
“w e ched s u ”. In u h, Wo dswo h objec ed o any kind o Sco ish pa io ic e se,
his mani es disapp o al ex ending o Bu ns’s sa i ic e se, including he eligious so ,
which he ound indecen and i olous om a mo al poin o iew (Low 1974: 131; Noyes
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1944: 831, 832). Ne e heless, we ough o keep in mind ha Bu ns’s democ a ic spi i
was no me ely con ined o poli ical ma e s o mo e o less con o e sial con en . As
men ioned in p e ious lines, his a i ude would also be displayed in he ploughman poe ’s
p e e ence o w i ing o and abou his Ay shi e communi y in a language unde s ood by
common olk, he use o he e nacula becoming in such way a key ing edien in his
pu sui o democ acy. Ne e heless, was Bu ns’s use o he e nacula wha se him apa
om o he Sco ish poe s, wha made him so unique? As a ma e o ac , as Russell Noyes
s a es, he use o e nacula esponds o a clea in luence om Bu ns’s p edecesso s,
among hem Sco ish poe s Allan Ramsay (1686-1758) and, o a g ea e ex en , Robe
Fe gusson (1750-1774) om whom Bu ns inhe i ed “ he eal language o men”.
Likewise, bo h poe s appea o o m pa o an unin e up ed ou -hund ed-yea -old
Sco ish li e a y legacy (Noyes 1944: 830), which hin s a he sugges ion ha Bu ns migh
ha e been pa icipan o wha seems o be an unmis akeable Sco ish adi ion.
1.5. Robe Bu ns, I P esume?
Jus as he poli ical ambigui y o “ he Co e ’s Sa u day Nigh ” illus a es he dual na u e
o B i ain a e 1707, i also mi o s Bu ns’s own blu ed pe sonali y and his abili y o
adop di e en a i udes in his hi s o eaching all human beings (Da is 1998: 623;
Pa e son, 2010). Bu wha do we know abou Bu ns? So a , he has e ealed himsel as a
poli ical adical, a no so illi e a e humble ploughman, an animal lo e ; Bu ns he
p omiscuous, he ebel agains he mos hypoc i ical aspec s o he Cal inis doc ine, he
democ a ic spi i . Who is he eal Robe Bu ns? I , as Donald A. Low a i ms, Bu ns’s
e ses a e no bu a e lec ion o his li e (1974: 349), i migh ce ainly be wo h looking
in o he indi idual hiding behind he poe . His b o he Gilbe , he one pe son who knew
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Bu ns be e han anybody else, desc ibes how he ha sh ci cums ances on he a m, hei
a he ’s illness and he con inuous economic s uggle caused emo ionally ola ile Bu ns
g ea su e ing, which ansla ed in o episodes o dep ession and also physical exhaus ion
due o s enuous labou . Poems composed a imes o ne ous b eakdowns bea i les like
“To Ruin” o “A P aye in he P ospec o Dea h”. Unde hese ci cums ances, eading
and w i ing o e ed Bu ns he oppo uni y o le o s eam and escape om bleak eali y.
And ye , a he same ime, Gilbe poin s a his b o he ’s a den empe amen and he
ebellious beha iou o eenage Bu ns, whose passion o dancing and sexual p omiscui y
we e no jus me e o ms o en e ainmen , bu also a way o o ge a pe sonali y
diame ically opposed o ha o his s ic Cal inis a he . Despi e he di e ences be ween
a he and son, Bu ns always el g a e ul o his upb inging, p aising his a he o his
sense o digni y as well as his egali a ian p inciples, which Bu ns inhe i ed and cap u ed
in his poe y (C aw o d 2009: 59, 60, 79, 121, 139; Ben man 1972: 211).
I could be said ha he eal u ning poin in Bu ns’s li e and li e a y ca ee came in
he o m o a e iew by lawye and sen imen al no elis Hen y Mackenzie (1745-1841)
in he Edinbu gh pe iodical pape The Lounge in 1786. Mackenzie, au ho o The Man
o Feeling (1771), which, inciden ally, Bu ns held in high ega d o he poin o compa ing
i o he bible, was he i s one o dub he Ay shi e poe he “hea en- augh ploughman”
a e he publica ion o Bu ns’s Poems, Chie ly in he Sco ish Dialec (1786) in
Kilma nock. The i le o MacKenzie’s e iew “Su p ising e ec s o he O iginal Genius
exempli ied in he Poe ical P oduc ions o Robe Bu ns, an Ay shi e Ploughman” u ned
Bu ns in o a “socio-li e a y phenomenon”, gi ing way o a new s a e o a ai s wi h which
Bu ns seemed o be qui e a ease (Smi h 2007: 74; Low 1974: 67). Ine i ably, along wi h
he good Bu ns came he bad Bu ns. Howe e , wha seems o ba le biog aphe s he mos
was he somehow s iking con as be ween he good and he bad side o he ploughman
P a g e | 26
om his speech (And ews 2006: 63; Smi h 2007: 84). In ac , i seems ha mos membe s
in Bu ns’s Lowland communi y would ha e been “na i e speake [s] o he e oglossia”
(Mo is 1987: 13). Despi e his codeswi ching abili ies, Bu ns did admi no ha ing qui e
he same p o iciency in English han in his na i e dialec , no being able o exp ess his
ideas in he same i id way as he would ha e done in his mo he ongue. Likewise, he
signi ican linguis ic and cul u al di e ences be ween bo h languages led some c i ics o
e e o Bu ns’s dialec , in a sligh ly exagge a ed manne , as an “unknown ongue”
(Mo is 1987: 13). Pe haps, as Mu ay Pi ock asse s, such de ia ions om wha is
conside ed s anda d English should no necessa ily imply a lack o command o he
language, and, by ex ension, become a decisi e a gumen o de e mine he exclusion o
Bu ns om he B i ish adi ion. I such we e he case, shouldn’ he same p inciple be
applied o Spense , Shakespea e o e en Middle English? (Mo is 1987: 13, 14; Pi ock
2008: 145, 165).
In addi ion, labelling w i e s such as Bu ns o Fe gusson “peasan poe s” is no
likely o depic a a ou able opinion on hei abili ies o w i e in English, no hose
ins ances when Bu ns decla es ha he simply w i es “ o un” (Pi ock 2008: 11; McGui k
2014: 13). His allegedly “bad English”, howe e , did no s op Bu ns’s con empo a y
c i ics and edi o s om a ou ing his sen imen al “English” poems in de imen o hose
w i en in he mo e “obscu e” e nacula , and, he e o e, ied o pe suade him o ollow
his end. E en so, Bu ns, being Bu ns, e used o gi e in en i ely o he as e o he
Edinbu gh li e a i o he ime (Daiches 1963: 12).
In o he li e a y ci cles he oo o he p oblem was no so much Bu ns’s
inadequa e use o English as his ailu e o p oduce decen sen imen al poe y in English
in an a emp o ollow he eigh een h-cen u y adi ion. While Bu ns’s e nacula poems
un olded deep eelings eme ging om eal li e expe ience depic ed in i id de ail, he

P a g e | 27
ploughman poe ’s majo handicap seems o o igina e in his inabili y o deal wi h poe y
o abs ac ion, as is he case in his poem “Despondency”. Jus as Bu ns does in “To a
Mouse”, “Despondency” also deals wi h he penu ies and unce ain ies o human li e,
“g ie ” and “ca e” being he bu den man mus ca y in his “ ough” and “wea y” oad o
li e. The exp essi e image y employed by Bu ns in “To a Mouse”, in which, o ins ance,
win e is desc ibed as being slee y d ibble and c an euch cauld [ os y cold], is p ecisely
wha “Despondency” seems o lack, con ibu ing o a sense o agueness, in such way
ha , a he end o he poem, he eade will be none he wise on he speake ’s
p edicamen . (Ben man 1972: 213, 214).
A u he a gumen pu o wa d o help shed some ligh in he ques ion o Bu ns’s
“bad English” would be he appa en lack o in e es in English poe y composed by
eigh een h-cen u y Sco ish au ho s, which ended o be dis ega ded on g ounds o i s
imi a i e na u e. None heless, poe ic emula ion cons i u ed a widesp ead eaching de ice
applied no only in Sco land bu also in England, wi h poe s o he calib e o Blake being
p aised p ecisely o exe cising he a o imi a ion. “The Co e ’s Sa u day Nigh ”, a
om being a me e copy, was o en disdained o i s o e -con en ional pas o al depic ion
o a Sco ish amily, which may hin a a bias a i ude on he pa o he c i ics. Homi
Bhabha’s concep o mimic y (1994: 85) unde s ood in his speci ic con ex o pos -Union
Sco land may help explain why imi a ion o English models by Sco ish poe s migh ha e
aised a ew eyeb ows in neighbou ing England. Jus as Sco ish p ospe i y igge ed
ce ain animosi y sou h o he bo de , i is no su p ise ha he idea o cul u al English
models being injec ed wi h a dose o “Sco ishness” would ha e been conside ed a h ea ,
and he e o e, dismissed.
A imes, na ionalis e e ences would be “camou laged” unde he açade o
esemblance o English models, as is he case in Bu ns’s poem “Add ess o Edinbu gh”
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(And ews 2006: 60, 61, 64, 65, 66, 67, 75). Bu mo e impo an ly, wouldn’ his ou ine
assimila ion o English models by Bu ns and his p edecesso s link hem o some ex en
o he B i ish adi ion om which hey we e being e ic ed?
2.2. Knocking on he Doo o he Sco ish T adi ion
2.2.1. A G ea Alien T adi ion
The “decaden ep esen a i e o a g ea alien adi ion”, is he way in which T.S. Elio
exp essed his iews on Bu ns in 1933, yea s a e he had published in he B i ish
magazine A henaeum qui e a con o e sial a icle en i led “Was he e a Sco ish
Li e a u e?”. Indeed, he a he p o oca i e assump ion was no likely o go unno iced,
a ac ing a g ea deal o in e es uelled by Elio ’s sel -assu ance (McGui k 2014: 8).
Con o e sies aside, he cul u al and li e a y cou se o Bu ns’s pos -Union Sco land did
seem o ha e gone h ough a signi ican ans o ma ion since he Middle Ages, a ime
when he coun y no only was p oud o i s own lou ishing li e a y adi ion, wi h poe s
like Robe Hen yson and William Dunba as majo igu es in he i een h cen u y, bu
also had i s e y own li e a y language (Daiches 1963: 8, 9). Howe e , a se ies o e en s
a he end o he i een h cen u y we e abou o shake he u u e o Sco land, o i s
language and o i s li e a y adi ion. The Union o he C owns along wi h he eno mous
p es ige o Elizabe han w i e s and he P o es an Re o ma ion in oduced by John Knox
u ned Sou he n English in o he language o cou , li e a u e and also he Chu ch o
Sco land. In he mean ime, Sco s wen om being a sepa a e language in i s own igh o
becoming a se ies o p o incial dialec s esembling mo e sou he n English, especially in
Bu ns’s na i e Lowlands. Ka he ine T. Fus ich, quo ing Da id S. Hewi ’s wo ds,
desc ibes he linguis ic p ocess in qui e a g aphic manne as B i ish English “in ec ing”
P a g e | 29
he g amma ical sys em o he Sco ish language (Fus ich n.d.).The Union o Pa liamen s
mean he closu e o a cycle ha had s a ed be o e he i een h cen u y, bu also ma ked
he beginning o a enewed in e es in Sco land’s li e a y pas , al hough, by hen, Sco ish
w i e s had al eady emb aced English as hei li e a y medium.
In a 1775 collec ion o poems by Sco ish au ho s called The Caledoniad, in
which Bu ns was no p esen , only se en poems ou o he one hund ed and se en y
seemed o be w i en wi h any “hin ” o he e nacula , while he es would adop
s anda d English (Daiches 1994: 809; Ben man 1960: 7, 8; Daiches 1963: 10). Gi en he
p eca ious si ua ion o Sco s as a li e a y language, and a e being e ic ed by some
schola s om B i ish li e a u e, was he e eally a Sco ish adi ion o Bu ns o call
home?
Wha seems clea is ha Bu ns was ce ainly no alone in eigh een h-cen u y
li e a y Sco land; names like William Hamil on, John Lap aik, James MacPhe son o
James Thomson sp ing up in he li e a y scene, despi e he ac ha he poe ic p oduc ion
o he ime has usually been na owed down o he wo k o h ee men only: Allan Ramsay,
Robe Fe gusson and Robe Bu ns, de ined by some as he “na ionalis angua d”
(And ews 2006: 61). In an a emp o keep such na ionalis eeling ali e, ce ain edi o s,
publishe s and poe s joined o ces o p ese e he old adi ion and keep he agonizing
Sco ish li e a y language a loa in he o m o poems w i en in egional dialec s, o
imi a ing olde li e a y wo ks. Despi e he e o , he complexi y o medie al Sco ish
poe y did no p o e qui e popula , al hough he in e es in Sco ish olk-poe y and music
allowed o a b ea hing space. The ac ha he always in luen ial Edinbu gh li e a i
dismissed Sco ish e se in a ou o sen imen al li e a u e in English did no help o gi e
he e nacula mo emen a much-needed boos (Daiches 1963: 10, 12).
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Al hough Bu ns quo ed Shakespea e, Thomson, Pope o Goldsmi h mos
equen ly (no o ge ing he Bible as his p ima y sou ce), he e seems o be no ques ion
abou he in luence o Ramsay, and, o a g ea e ex en , o Fe gusson on Bu ns’s li e a y
wo k (Ben man 1972: 211). Bu ns himsel decla es in his “P e ace” o he Kilma nock
edi ion how he eels pa o a Sco ish school whose g ea es exponen s we e Ramsay and
Fe gusson, bu poin ing ou a he same ime ha he akes hei wo k in o conside a ion
“ a he wi h a iew o kindle a hei lame, han o se ile imi a ion” (Wes on 1960:
646). F om bo h poe s Bu ns would inhe i pa icula s anza o ms, he use o he
e nacula , as well as hei subjec ma e .
Howe e , acco ding o Raymond Ben man, Bu ns ha dly e e quo ed Ramsay o
Fe gusson, as opposed o some o he English, pe haps his being he eason which led
some schola s o he assump ion ha Bu n’s p o-Sco ish posi ioning did no ha e much
o do wi h li e a y he i age as wi h he poli ical si ua ion in eigh een h-cen u y Sco land
(Ben man 1972: 211, 212). Indeed, despi e Ramsay’s e o s o y and cap u e he essence
o he olde Sco ish adi ion, he London Augus ans and he ce ainly mo e gen eel
eade ship in he capi al seemed o ha e go in he way, e en when using Sco ish wo ds.
Fe gusson, on he o he hand, did no hide his hos ili y o he ele a ed one adop ed by
mos w i e s, al hough he was no s ange ei he o “high” dic ion in ce ain con ex s, o
ins ance, in The Sow o Feeling, a pa ody o Hen y Mackenzie’s sen imen al no el The
Man o Feeling. No wi hs anding hei opposed iews wi h espec o English
neoclassicism, nei he o hem seemed o de ia e om mains eam B i ish adi ion, he
e nacula simply being used wi hin he con ex o con empo a y li e a u e in B i ain
(McGui k 1977:57). In he ligh o his, one may ac ually wonde whe he he e nacula
e i al o Sco s, in u h, cons i u es a sepa a e li e a y mo emen de ached om he
B i ish adi ion, o , as T.S.Elio exp essed i in The A henaeum, an “alien” adi ion.
P a g e | 31
Pe haps one o he poems which bes illus a es he elusi e Sco ish adi ion
inhe i ed by Bu ns h ough Ramsay and Fe gusson would be “Poo Mailie’s Elegy”, a
mock lamen o he dea h o a pe sheep, he same ewe al eady encoun e ed in “The
Dea h and Dying Wo ds o Poo Mailie”. The a he loose adi ion om which Bu ns
ecei es his inspi a ion goes back o an eigh een h-cen u y ype o humo ous elegy which
ecoun s he li e and pe sonali y o he depa ed, usually some eccen ic, low-class local
cha ac e . The o e all one o such elegies was ligh , and, as i may be expec ed, he ocal
poin was no so much he g ie o he passing o he deceased as hei ac i i ies while
hey we e ali e o he desc ip ion o he place whe e hey li ed. Jus as his p edecesso s’,
“Poo Mailie’s Elegy” is also w i en in he dialec o he Lowlands, and ollowing sui ,
Bu ns also uses he S anda d Habbie, an old Sco s six-lined s anza (AAA, B, A, B)
b ough back in o ashion by he e nacula mo emen , whose inal line epea s he wo d
“dead”, as illus a ed in he i s wo s anzas o he poem:
Lamen in hyme, lamen in p ose
Wi’ sau ea s ickling down you nose;
Ou Ba die’s a e is a a close
Pas a’ emead!
The las , sad cape-s ane o his woes;
Poo Mailie’s dead!
I ’s no he loss o’wa ls’s gea
Tha could sae bi e d aw he ea

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O make ou Ba die, dowie, wea
The mou ning weed:
He’s los a iend and neebo dea ,
In Mailie’s dead.
(Bu ns 1993: 10, 11)
Bu ns, howe e , in oduces signi ican a ia ions, he mos ob ious being Mailie, a non-
human subjec ea ed as human, as well as a change o ocus om he subjec o he elegy
o he s a e o mind o he mou ne . By doing so, Bu ns accomplishes a “humou o
exagge a ion” while ge ing close , unlike his p edecesso s, o he ue na u e o mock
elegy, which, in essence, in ol es a ension be ween he subjec ma e and he
exp ession, be ween Mailie’s dea h and a ype o language which would ha e been bes
sui ed o a human dea h. Did he “hea en- augh ” ploughman disco e he eal mock-
elegy wi h he help o his na u al genius, o , wha seems mo e easonable, h ough his
p io knowledge o he English adi ion? (Wes on 1960: 635, 640, 642, 643, 644). So a
i seems ha Bu ns is no any close o lea e he li e a y limbo o no man’s land.
2.2.2. Los o Wo ds
Fo Bu ns and his ellow e nacula c usade s, eclaiming hei own poe ic space in
eigh een h-cen u y Sco land did no p o e o be plain sailing. Howe e , despi e hei
common mission, Ramsay and Fe gusson’s easons o in using hei li e a y wo k wi h
e nacula Sco s seemed o di e om hose o Bu ns, whose ocus ee ed owa ds he
s uggle o u al olk. While o Ramsay and Fe gusson he use o dialec was a means o
ep esen he u ban speech in he ci y o Edinbu gh, Bu ns seizes his oppo uni y o
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p o ide u al wo ke s wi h hei own oice. Poo peasan s, usually depic ed as mu e,
passi e subjec s, we e conside ed as pe ec ma e ial o elegies in eigh een h-cen u y,
he p o o ype o he good ic im, jus as he dead coun y olk had been in Thomas G ay’s
“Elegy in a Coun y Chu chya d” (1751). By bes owing upon his cha ac e s he eedom
o speech Bu ns e ec i ely e ased any media ion be ween poe and eade in mos o his
poems, as is he case in “Holy Willie’s P aye ” o “The Dea h and Dying Wo ds o Poo
Mailie”, in which bo h Willie Fishe and he pe sheep ake he ole o subjec s add essing
hei audience di ec ly (McGui k 2014: 10, 11, 18).
In ac , he use o he e nacula b ings Bu ns’s li e a y wo k close o social
communica i e exchanges o e e yday li e, dis ancing himsel om he always
homogeneous neoclassical poe y. In his way, o Bu ns, as opposed o Pope, a poe ic
epis le would become a eplacemen o speech, o he “ble he ” in he a e n, o a ype
o language in he ealms o social discou se. This kind o dialogical na u e in Bu ns’s
poe y will also go hand in hand wi h a concep pe haps mo e associa ed wi h he no el
a ha ime: he e oglossia. Bakh in concei es he no ion o he e oglossia as “ano he ’s
speech in ano he ’s language”, in such way ha he poe , h ough he oice o he o he ,
would be able o con ey his own in en ions, c ea ing a “double- oiced discou se” in
which bo h he au ho and he cha ac e speak simul aneously exp essing, howe e , wo
di e en pu poses (Bakh in 1981: 324). He e oglossia, he e o e, implies much mo e han
he simple mixing o English and Sco ish e nacula , o he p esence o mul iple speech-
ypes; i wo ks as a means o p ese e he dis inc i e cha ac e is ics o he di e en
indi iduals and social g oups, he some imes “impene able wo lds o discou se” (Mo is
1987: 14) be ween England and Sco land, hence ha , o some schola s, he glossa ies
included by Bu ns we e un o una ely no qui e su icien (Mo is 1987: 8, 9, 10, 11, 14;
Daiches 1963: 23, 24).
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The opening o “Tam o’Shan e . A Tale”, conside ed by some c i ics as one o he
mos splendid openings in eigh een h-cen u y poe y, may se e o illus a e Bu ns’s
abili y o codeswi ching be ween Sco s and English:
When chapman billies lea e he s ee ,
And d ou hy neebo s, neebo s mee ,
As ma ke -days a e wea ing la e,
An’ olk begin o ak he ga e;
While we si bousing a he nappy,
And ge ing ou and unco happy,
We hink na on he lang Sco s miles,
The mosses, wa e s, slaps and s yles,
Tha lie us and ou hame,
Wha e si s ou sulky sullen dame,
Ga he ing he b ows like ga he ing s o m,
Nu sing he w a h o keep he wa m.
(Bu ns 1993, 160)
Along wi h he sp inkling o Sco s wo ds such as ou [ ull/d unk], unco [ e y] o nappy
[s ong ale], some o he hyming ea u es also encode his hyb id encoun e o languages,
as is he case in hame and “dame” in he penul ima e couple , in which “home” adop s
he Sco s dic ion o hame. Howe e , Bu ns swi ches back o he English p onuncia ion in
he las wo lines in such way ha “s o m” and “wa m” would become hyming wo ds
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( he ounding o [a] when p eceded by [w] would no ha e been ye in place in Sco land
a ha ime). Likewise, English would appea in he mo phology o he p esen pa iciples
in which -ing eplaces he mos common No se-de i ed su ix -an (Smi h 2007: 82, 83).
Along wi h he hyme and g amma ical ea u es, i seems ha s anda d English and Sco s
a e also assigned di e en asks: while he o me ep esen s he language o dis ance and
announcemen ( he depa u e o he “chapman billies”, ha is, he people who supplied
p in ed ballads) as well as judgemen ( he cold ecep ion ha awai s he ineb ia ed
husband a home in he las couple ), he la e , on he o he hand, mi o s he ongue o
he communi y, he “we” enjoying he “ban e ” in he a e n, which, by no means, depic s
an in e io dialec (Pi ock 2008: 158, 159).
“The Co e ’s Sa u day Nigh ” cons i u es a u he example o Bu ns’s poe ic
mix u e o Sco s and English in which he s anda d-English s anzas, esembling he s yle
o poe s like Oli e Goldsmi h o Thomas G ay, a e aimed a hose ele a ed passages ha
ene a e he digni ied li e o coun y people, while he cha ac e s would be b ough o
li e h ough he use o he exp essi e e nacula (McGui k: 2014: 90).
The e nacula , “ he eal language o men”, is p ecisely wha mos a ac ed
poe s like Wo dswo h and all hose c i ics who uly belie ed ha he bes e sion o
Bu ns, he wi ies and mo e luen , hid behind his na i e dialec (McNeill 2012: 117).
Gi en Bu ns’s Anglocen ic educa ion and his ai ly good knowledge o English, despi e
his being open o deba e, w i ing in Sco s would no ha e been a ma e o necessi y, bu
a ma e o poe ic op ion, no only o Bu ns bu also o poe s like Ramsay and Fe gusson
(Pi ock 2008: 147). Fo eigh een h-cen u y Sco ish w i e s, he e nacula was in i sel
an app op ia e, bu no compulso y, poe ic medium and a sui able language o a icula e
hei pa io ic eelings (And ews 2006: 65). The use o his na i e dialec also led Bu ns
o ake g ea ca e in he supe ision o he glossa ies appended o each o his h ee edi ions
P a g e | 42
Bespoke he Lass o’Ballochmyle
(Bu ns 1969: 178-179)
The human aspec , a hallma k in Bu n’s poe y clea ly depic ed in his poem “Tam
o’Shan e . A Tale” (1793), would also cons i u e one o he li e a y ea u es widely
admi ed by Wo dswo h. Indeed, he longes , mos challenging, and also closes imi a ion
o Bu ns’s o iginal wo k may be iden i ied in Wo dswo h’s poem “The Waggone ”
(1805), inspi ed in “Tam o’Shan e ”, a humo ous ale ecoun ing he ad en u es o
ineb ia ed Tam du ing a wild hunde s o m, which would also ame he heme and se ing
o Wo dswo h’s d unken cha ac e Benjamin in “The Waggone ”. The poems, in which
he speake apologizes o displaying such a s a e o d unken eupho ia in a a he
indulgen manne , depic a s o my nigh , bo h poems paying special a en ion o he aging
wind, he ghas ly hunde and ligh ning and he o en ial ain, bo h also desc ibing an
ee ie nigh in which ghos s and howling owls e i y hei in oxica ed cha ac e s. As much
as Wo dswo h p o essed his ondes admi a ion o he ploughman poe , and despi e all
he appa en simila i ies be ween bo h poems, he English poe , on his occasion, ailed
o gi e Bu ns any c edi (Noyes 1944: 814-819, 822, 823; Ben man 1960: 111).
E en hough he examples abo e appea o cap u e some signi ican likeness
be ween Bu ns and Wo dswo h wi h ega ds o hei choice o subjec ma e , exp ession
and he way in which bo h poe s deal wi h a ious opics, ce ain aspec s in Bu ns’s
a i ude owa ds na u e seem o di e om ha o he English poe . Indeed, wha appea ed
o ha e puzzled Wo dswo h he mos abou Bu ns was he ac ha a poe o such g ea
sensibili y, as shown in poems like “To a Mouse” o “To a Moun ain Daisy”, could,
ne e heless, emain unde e ed by he b ea h- aking beau y o he nea by Peaks o A an;
in essence, Bu ns “ne e spoke o he g andeu o na u e” (Ben man 1960: 63).

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The ploughman poe gi es he imp ession ha he is mo e conce ned wi h he
no ion o na u e concei ed as an objec o obse a ion, na u e as he “immedia e
en i onmen ” and a symbol in i sel (Ben man 1960: 63). Fo Bu ns na u e would
he e o e be mo e human, mo e amilia , and no so much a hiding place o s ange
phenomena o lee ing images o e lec ions o shi ing ligh s. While o some schola s
such as Augus e Angellie Bu ns seems o be ypically ollowing a end in he Sco ish
adi ion wi h no connec ion wha soe e wi h he ea men o na u e in B i ish li e a u e,
and, by ex ension, in he Roman ic mo emen , o o he academics his a gumen in i sel
would no be powe ul enough o disassocia e Bu ns om he Roman ic poe y (Noyes
1944: 14; Ben man 1960: 63, 132, 133). A u he di e ence o be no ed be ween Bu ns
and Wo dswo h sp ings om he al eady men ioned dialogical one in he Ay shi e
poe ’s poems, his lo e songs sugges ing company a he han loneliness, and his sa i es
and na a i e poems, like he a o emen ioned “Tam o’Shan e ”, usually in ol ing he
local communi y. Bu ns, in ha espec , as Alan Riach implies, seems o di e om he
no mal posi ion o he Roman ic poe as a single speake de ached om he objec o
pe cep ion, an idea e lec ed in Wo dswo h’s poem “The Soli a y Reape ” in which “ he
soli a y Highland lass” belongs o a di e en cul u al and language communi y (Riach
2011: 55, 56). In une wi h his dialogical aspec , Bu ns’s add ess poems also build up an
a ay o speake s who se e no only as aming elemen s, bu also as ac o s, as is he case
in “To a Mouse”. In he i s s anza o he poem, he speake ’s oice ( he agen ) would be
ha o a poo enan a me who add esses in his local dialec a mouse whose nes has
dis u bed: “Wee, sleeke , cow an, im’ ous beas ie […] Thou need na s a awa sae has y”
(Bu ns 1993: 67). Ye , his oice is ollowed by a u he in e ening passe by who speaks
in English: “I’m uly so y Man’s dominion/ Has b oken Na u e’s social union” (Bu ns
1993: 67), which shows how bo h agen and spec a o seem o become one. Wo dswo h’s
P a g e | 44
poe ic oice, on he o he hand, depic s o un olds his “soli a ies” by asking a silen ,
unknown lis ene a ques ion, as is he case in “The Soli a y Reape ” when he speake
exho s: “Will no one ell me wha she sings?” (Pi ock 2008: 151, 153; Riach 2011: 56).
Lea ing aside hese di e ences and judging by some o he dis inc simila i ies
be ween bo h poe s, no o ge ing abou Wo dswo h’s explici displays o admi a ion
o he ploughman poe , one would pe haps expec Bu ns o be a s ep close o ha li e a y
place he could inally call home; howe e , will his li le push om “ he leas a e nal o
he g ea Roman ics” be enough o p opel Bu ns in he igh di ec ion?
2.3.2. May I Come In?
Bu ns was no one o si s ill. His cle e manipula ion o he e nacula inhe i ed om
Ramsay and Fe gusson in his a emp o cap u e he simplici y o he common language
o his coun y olk has aken him u he away om he Augus an poe ic dic ion (Noyes
1944: 830). Likewise, Bu ns goes as a as o adap adi ional s anzaic o ms like he
S anda d Habbie o new us ic se ings, using he sho e ou h and six h lines o imi a e
he hy hm o con e sa ion, an icipa ing in his way By on’s con e sa ional o a a ima
(Leask 2010: 8; Ben man 1972: 224). This shi con inues i s cou se pa ing a new pa h in
which Bu ns would s amp his pe sonal oo p in by ca ying ou ele an hema ic
a ia ions in Augus an poe y, as is he case in he heme o man wande ing in na u e,
employed, among o he s, by William Cowpe and James Thomson, wo o he au ho s
mos admi ed by he ploughman poe . Bu ns picks up he image o man wande ing
ca e ee in a us ic scene, ye esponsi e o he na u al wo ld, bu goes beyond i , c ea ing
a mo e complex usion be ween he emo ions o man and he su ounding na u e, which
seem o become one, gi ing way o a uni ed ision o God and na u e. This new
P a g e | 45
de elopmen in he heme o man wande ing would inspi e poe s like Cole idge, Kea s o
By on, and, o a g ea e ex en , Wo dswo h, who, like Bu ns, also unde s ands he image
o wande ing as symbol o eedom, as illus a ed in “The P elude” (1850) o in “Tin e n
Abbey” (1798), in which Wo dswo h, howe e , eaches a new le el o deepe
unde s anding (Ben man 1972: 219-223)
Bu ns’s shi om neoclassical poe y o mo e Roman ic modes con inues i s low,
his ime encompassing he ploughman poe ’s unique app oach o animals, pe cei ed no
jus as me e alking pa odies o human beings o as symbols o human cha ac e , bu
ea ing hem as eal c ea u es. In his way, Mailie, he mouse and e en he moun ain
daisy become ep esen a ions o uni e sal sen imen s o empa hy and ail y an icipa ing
he animal poems o Wo dswo h, Cole idge and Shelley. I migh be o hese
de elopmen s ha some schola s deem Bu ns as one o he mos in en i e poe s e e o
exis in B i ain om Pope o Blake, conside ing him, jus as Wo dswo h did, a kind o
pionee , a p ecu so o he Roman ic mo emen , no only o his p og essi e dis ancing
om he p e ious Augus an adi ion, as illus a ed abo e, bu also o his challenging
choice o poe ic dic ion, which seemed o ha e shaken he classical canon a he ime
(Low 1974: 28; Leask 2010: 2).
Howe e , in some li e a y ci cles such achie emen s do no seem o cons i u e a
s ong enough a gumen as o le Bu ns c oss he doo ha leads o Roman icism. Aside
om hose academics opposed o any plausible connec ion be ween Bu ns’s Sco ish
e se and he B i ish adi ion, o he opinions, as ha o Da id Daiches, poin hei inge
a mo e speci ic ea u es in he ploughman poe ’s li e a y wo k, he lack o sublimi y
being one o he mos decisi e ac o s o disca d Bu ns om he Roman ic mo emen ,
while o schola s like Ma hew A nold he inexis en se iousness and epic lai in Bu ns’s
poe y s ands as he main eason o ban him om Roman icism (Ben man 1960: 137;
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Da is, Duncan, So ensen 2004: 4). Gi en his s a e o a ai s, one may ac ually s a
wonde ing whe he Bu ns’s seemingly conspicuous in luence on Ly ical Ballads migh
ha e ac ually been aken in o any conside a ion a e all. In ac , Ly ical Ballads seems
o ha e u ned in o some kind o double-edged swo d which bo h ecognises Bu ns’s
in luence, bu makes him in isible a he same ime. The key o his conund um boils
down o he ac ha Bu ns died only wo yea s be o e Ly ical Ballads saw he ligh in
1798, and ha he wo-yea gap may ha e led o his ma ginaliza ion om he oman ic
mains eam, his being he eason why he ploughman poe would be conside ed by some
schola s a p ecu so a he han a pa icipan o he Roman ic adi ion (Pi ock 2003: 192,
211).
Likewise, Bu ns would also ace exclusion om wha is p o ing o be he elusi e
Roman ic e i o y on g ounds o his hyb id poe ic dic ion. The monoglossia ha
cha ac e ises Roman icism seems o ha e eme ged om a pa adigma ic shi mo e acu e
a e Wo ld Wa II, a shi o a mo e in ospec i e oman ic model which seemed o
p io i ise imagina ion, anscendence and subjec i i y, a model in which Bu ns would be
no longe welcomed, pa ly because o he ma ked social dimension o his li e a y wo k,
and pa ly because o his dialec . A mo e his o ical-con ex ual app oach on he analysis
o Roman icism would su ace again in he 1980s, om which Bu ns would appea
coa ed in wo king-class s a us, his use o non-S anda d English me ely being ied o his
condi ion o “peasan poe ”, which would, hen again, cas a cloud o e Bu ns’s abili y o
w i e in English (Pi ock 2008: 9, 10,11).
A u he a gumen would lea e us wonde ing whe he he sea ch o a Roman ic
place in which Bu ns could inally se le may e en ually u n ou o be a u ile ask.
Indeed, some schola s like poe Edwin Mui a e mo e o he opinion ha Roman icism
bypassed Sco land a guing ha he coun y’s cul u al his o y was in ac oo Cal inis ic,
P a g e | 47
o oo Neoclassical o bo h o mee he oman ic equi emen s ha less eligious and mo e
dynamic neighbou ing England had appa en ly been able o achie e (Pi ock 2011: 78).
Fu he mo e, whe e Sco land is conce ned, a cen u y-long cul u al mo emen which
s a ed wi h Da id Hume’s T ea ise o Human Na u e (1739-1740) and ended wi h
Thomas Ca lyle’s The F ench Re olu ion (1837) seemed o ha e go in he way o
Roman icism: The Enligh enmen . As a pos -Union cul u al exp ession bo n in Lowland
Sco land, he Enligh enmen encompassed a se ies o inno a ions om mo al philosophy
and his o y o poe y and jou nalism, a a ime when Sco ish uni e si ies would subsidy
bo h ea ises o in ellec uals like Adam Smi h o Da id Hume, and p ojec s o e i al o
cul u al adi ions such as James Macphe son’s Poems o Ossian (Da is, Duncan,
So ensen 2004: 2, 3, 11, 12). In his con ex , academics like Ian Duncan conside ha ,
when Sco land is in he pic u e, i would p obably make mo e sense o e e o his pe iod
as a cen u y-long cul u al mo emen a he han a “dis inc phase o Roman icism”
(Duncan 2006), which, o cou se, would lea e wande ing Bu ns wai ing in ain a he
doo s ep o Roman icism.

P a g e | 48
Conclusion
Robe Bu ns’s e a in mid-eigh een h-cen u y Sco land was no an o dina y one. The
winds o change we e blowing s ong in a coun y whose me eo ic g ow h was wi ness o
he ansi ion om eudalism o he beginning o ag a ian capi alism and he ising o
“imp o emen ” enan a me s such as Bu ns’s a he . This p ocess did no go wi hou
s uggle, while he ploughman poe ’s humble o igins would no only ma k his li e bu
also his li e a y wo k in which Bu ns would cap u e his enown empa hy owa ds his
ellow coun y olk in a simple and na u al manne .
Ne e heless, such spon anei y would also be subjec o c i icism, mos o i
ela ed o Bu ns’s allegedly de icien use o English. Indeed, bea ing in mind his humble
upb inging in u al Sco land, one would be inclined o ques ion he ploughman poe ’s
li e acy, and ye , no hing could ha e been a he om he u h. The uni e sali y o
educa ion, hallma k o he Sco ish Enligh enmen , allowed mos u al a eas o ha e
schools, bu , mos impo an ly, he p ominen ly Anglocen ic na u e o he educa ion
sys em in Sco land mean ha Bu ns would ha e been exposed o English au ho s and o
he English language om a e y ea ly age. Fu he mo e, he eading o King James
Bible, an essen ial equi emen in s ic Cal inis Ay shi e, would also cons i u e a s ong
a gumen agains Bu ns’s illi e acy as po en ial jus i ica ion o his exclusion om he
B i ish adi ion.
Howe e , despi e Bu ns’s Cal inis upb inging, he ploughman poe would
ac ually use his poe y as a means o denounce wha he conside ed hypoc i e beha iou
on he pa o o hodox P esby e ianism. Con o e sies aside, he employmen o common
li e e en s as subjec ma e in his poe y, along wi h Bu ns’s appa en s aigh o wa d
s yle, seem o comply wi h some ele an p ecep s pos ula ed in Wo dswo h and
Cole idge’s “P e ace” o Ly ical Ballads.
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Fai h ul o his egali a ian p inciples, Bu ns’s dange ous poli ical allegiances o he
Ame ican and he F ench e olu ions, and his e en iskie suspec ed a ini y o he
Jacobi e cause had o emain unno iced, hence he ambiguous in e p e a ions o some o
his poems. Mos impo an ly, he ploughman poe ’s democ a ic spi i would also go hand
in hand wi h he use o he e nacula , which Bu ns seemed o ha e inhe i ed om his
Sco ish p edecesso s, sugges ing in his way his connec ion wi h a Sco ish li e a y
adi ion.
Wha seems clea is ha despi e his ho des o illus ious admi e s in he eigh een h
and he nine een h cen u ies, Bu ns appea s o ha e become in isible in he B i ish
adi ion. While his li e a y wo k in he e nacula was deemed un i o be conside ed
pa o B i ish li e a u e on g ounds o being an alien language, he poo command o
English o his “English” poems would cons i u e a u he a gumen o his neglec . Fo
o he academics, howe e , he so-called “bad Bu ns” would ha e been me ely a emp ing
o imi a e he eigh een h-cen u y English sen imen al adi ion, esul ing in his ailu e o
deal wi h abs ac ions, which would explain he alleged bad quali y o hese poems. The
ploughman poe ’s imi a ion o he English models, a no mal p ac ice wi hin he B i ish
adi ion, was, ne e heless, subjec o c i icism when Bu ns was in he pic u e, leading
o sugges a biased beha iou om schola s sou h o he bo de . Indeed, in he con ex o
pos -Union B i ain, seeing English li e a u e being moulded by Sco ish au ho s may ha e
indeed unse led a ew c i ics.
Since Bu ns appea s o ace ejec ion om he B i ish adi ion, one would
imagine a sligh ly wa me welcome by he Sco ish li e a u e. Howe e , by he eigh een h
cen u y, sou he n English had e ec i ely become he li e a y medium in pos -Union
Sco land, and despi e he eme gence o a e i al mo emen in an a emp o eco e he
ib an li e a u e in Sco s ha once exis ed in he Middle Ages, in u h, mos Sco ish
P a g e | 50
au ho s op ed o employing English. Bu ns’s p edecesso s Allan Ramsay and Robe
Fe gusson, om whom he ploughman poe inhe i ed hei s yle, subjec ma e and he
use o he e nacula , did no , ne e heless, seem o de ia e much om mains eam
B i ish adi ion. Bu ns, on he o he hand, in oduced ele an a ia ions ega ding s yle
and he use o he e nacula , which, unlike Ramsay and Fe gusson, became he speech
o u al olk. Howe e , wha Wo dswo h hough o be he “ eal language o men” was,
in ac , a qui e con incing a i icial dialec , a new li e a y medium.
No only did Wo dswo h admi e Bu ns, whom he conside ed his eache , bu he
simila i ies be ween he li e a y wo k o bo h poe s seemed a imes a oo conspicuous
o be igno ed. Likewise, Bu ns’s implemen a ion o signi ican hema ic de elopmen s
which appea ed o b eak away he Augus an adi ion, in luenced o he Roman ic au ho s
aside o m Wo dswo h. Some c i ics, howe e , would ejec Bu ns’s connec ion wi h
B i ish Roman icism conside ing his simila i ies wi h Wo dswo h’s wo k as me ely
acciden al, while pinpoin ing ele an di e ences be ween bo h poe s. Fu he mo e, he
some imes-p e ailing no ion o Roman icism as monoglossic and in ospec i e, and he
ac ha he ploughman poe died be o e he publica ion o Ly ical Ballads in 1798, would
also ule ou Bu ns’s inclusion in he Roman ic mo emen .
Taking all he a gumen s in o conside a ion, i seems ha Bu ns migh ha e been
ollowing he legacy o a Sco ish adi ion which, a he han acing ex inc ion, may ha e
been going h ough a p ocess o change p ecipi a ed by he new o de o hings in pos -
Union Sco land, he mos isible o hose changes being he use o s anda d English as
li e a y medium. In his way, e en hough Bu ns’s p edecesso s would ha e been unde
he in luence o a loose Sco ish adi ion, and despi e w i ing in he e nacula , hey did
no appea , ne e heless, o de ia e g ea ly om he B i ish adi ion.
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Ha ing said his, he ac ha Bu ns may be conside ed pa o a Sco ish li e a y
school would no necessa ily imply his exclusion om he B i ish adi ion in he con ex
o pos -Union Sco land. In his espec , he e nacula should be be e concei ed as a
de ia ion om S anda d English a he han an alien ongue, no o ge ing, in any case,
ha Bu ns’s Lowland dialec esembled no he n English. Despi e his app op ia e
command o he English language being pu in o ques ion, he e seems o be enough
e idence sugges ing o he wise. No only did he ploughman poe w i e in English, bu he
also imi a ed, o a g ea e o lesse ex en , he English models, which would undoub edly
equi e g ea amilia i y, bo h wi h he language and wi h B i ish li e a u e. In addi ion,
Bu ns became much mo e han a local poe in Sco land; p ominen li e a y igu es o he
eigh een h and nine een h cen u ies, well acquain ed wi h his wo k, seemed o ha e held
Bu ns in high ega d, William Wo dswo h going as a as o conside him his eache .
Bu ns may ha e been inspi ed by bo h his Sco ish p edecesso s and o he li e a y
igu es in English li e a u e. Howe e , he ploughman poe was also he make o his own
li e a y inno a ions, which began o dis ance his wo k om he Augus an adi ion, and,
mos impo an ly, seemed o ha e had an impac on enowned Roman ic poe s, among
hem Wo dswo h. While Bu ns’s li e a y wo k may ha e no been as in ospec i e and
his ea men o na u e as sublime as ha o he English au ho , all e idence seems o
poin ou a Bu ns as a majo in luence, which would en i le he ploughman poe o be
conside ed, a leas , as a p ecu so o Wo dswo h, and by ex ension, o he Roman ic
mo emen in B i ain. Had Bu ns been ali e when Ly ical Ballads i s saw he ligh , he
migh ha e been conside ed a pa icipan in he Roman icism; had Bu ns been bo n sou h
o he bo de , he would ha e, mos likely, been spa ed om much o he deba e which
le he ploughman poe in no man’s land.