Robert Burns

Robert Burns

Robert Burns is one of Scotland’s most important literary figures and is best known for his famous, and often humorous, songs and poetry. Burns was an inspiring and passionate pioneer of his generation and is regarded as Scotland’s National Bard.

More commonly known as Rabbie, Burns was born to a poor family in Alloway, Ayr, on 25 January 1759 and began his working life on the family farm. Burns’ father recognised the importance of education and hired a local teacher for Burns, who went on to demonstrate signs of an exceptional writing talent from a very young age.

As Burns grew older, his great passion for Scotland and his dynamic, contemporary vision played an important role in inspiring the founders of socialism and liberalism. His literary fame began when his first work Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, later known as the Kilmarnock Edition, was published in 1786 after which his writing career flourished.

Although Burns only lived to the age of 37, he enjoyed an eventful life and produced an astonishing amount of great literary work during his career. He died in 1796.

Burns is famous for his political views, revolutionary behaviour and his love for the lassies, all of which can be seen in his extensive catalogue of work. Burns was also inspired by the beauty of Scotland, particularly his landscapes, his birthplace, and the romantic setting of his later home region of Dumfries & Galloway.

Although more than 200 years have passed since his death, Burns remains one of the most celebrated figures in Scottish history and culture, demonstrated by the annual Burns Night celebrations held across the country on 25 January each year.

Burns’ supper

The evening centers on the entrance of the haggis (a type of sausage prepared in a sheep's stomach) on a large platter to the sound of a piper playing bagpipes. When the haggis is on the table, the host reads the "Address to a Haggis". This is an ode that Robert Burns wrote to the Scottish dish. At the end of the reading, the haggis is ceremonially sliced into two pieces and the meal begins.

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