Cover of The Complete Works of Robert Burns: Containing his Poems, Songs, and Correspondence.
With a New Life of the Poet, and Notices, Critical and Biographical by Allan Cunningham

Public-domain ebook

The Complete Works of Robert Burns: Containing his Poems, Songs, and Correspondence. With a New Life of the Poet, and Notices, Critical and Biographical by Allan Cunningham

Name: The Complete Works of Robert Burns: Containing his Poems, Songs, and Correspondence. With a New Life of the Poet, and Notices, Critical and Biographical by Allan Cunningham
Author: Burns, Robert; Cunningham, Allan

by Burns, Robert; Cunningham, Allan

Read now Add to library

Language: en4,570 downloads on Project Gutenberg

Subjects

Songs, Scots -- Scotland -- Texts Scotland -- Poetry Burns, Robert, 1759-1796 -- Correspondence Poets, Scottish -- 18th century -- Correspondence

In: Bibliomania·Poetry·Poetry

Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #18500.

About this book

This volume gathers the poems, songs, and letters of Scotland’s beloved bard, Robert Burns, together with a biographical essay by his contemporary Allan Cunningham. The collection opens with a fervent dedication in which Burns declares his intention to sing for his country, invoking the spirit of the “prophetic bard Elijah” and pledging his verses to the “honoured protection” of his fellow Scots. Cunningham’s prefatory note follows, explaining his careful selection of works, excluding verses whose authorship is doubtful and retaining only those bearing the unmistakable “Burns‑stamp.” The table of contents then maps the breadth of the poet’s output, from rustic celebrations and moral epistles to satirical sketches and heartfelt elegies, offering a comprehensive portrait of his literary range.

The language is unmistakably eighteenth‑century Scots, rich with the earthy humor, moral vigor, and lyrical intimacy that define Burns’s voice. Readers who relish poetry that blends folk vitality with social commentary, as well as scholars interested in the historical context of Scottish literature, will find this compilation rewarding. Its mix of lyrical songs, moral poems, and personal correspondence provides insight into the mind of a poet who spoke plainly to both the common farmer and the cultured elite.

Who appears in The Complete Works of Robert Burns

Robert BurnsGaunt 18th‑century Scottish poet, reddish hair, freckled skin, tartan coat, cravat, solemn expression
ElijahBiblical prophet, long white beard, flowing mantle, rugged desert attire, intense eyes, ancient aura
ElishaYounger biblical prophet, short dark hair, modest robes, calm demeanor, gentle gaze

The opening · free to read

My Lords and Gentlemen:

A Scottish Bard, proud of the name, and whose highest ambition is to sing in his country's service, where shall he so properly look for patronage as to the illustrious names of his native land: those who bear the honours and inherit the virtues of their ancestors? The poetic genius of my country found me, as the prophetic bard Elijah did Elisha--at the PLOUGH, and threw her inspiring mantle over me. She bade me sing the loves, the joys, the rural scenes and rural pleasures of my native soil, in my native tongue; I tuned my wild, artless notes as she inspired. She whispered me to come to this ancient metropolis of Caledonia, and lay my songs under your honoured protection: I now obey her dictates.

Though much indebted to your goodness, I do not approach you, my Lords and Gentlemen, in the usual style of dedication, to thank you for past favours: that path is so hackneyed by prostituted learning that honest rusticity is ashamed of it. Nor do I present this address with the venal soul of a servile author, looking for a continuation of those favours: I was bred to the plough, and am independent. I come to claim the common Scottish name with you, my illustrious countrymen; and to tell the world that I glory in the title. I come to congratulate my country that the blood of her ancient heroes still runs uncontaminated, and that from your courage, knowledge, and public spirit, she may expect protection, wealth, and liberty. In the last place, I come to proffer my warmest wishes to the great fountain of honour, the Monarch of the universe, for your welfare and happiness.

When you go forth to waken the echoes, in the ancient and favourite amusement of your forefathers, may Pleasure ever be of your party: and may social joy await your return! When harassed in courts or camps with the jostlings of bad men and bad measures, may the honest consciousness of injured worth attend your return to your native seats; and may domestic happiness, with a smiling welcome, meet you at your gates! May corruption shrink at your kindling indignant glance; and may tyranny in the ruler, and licentiousness in the people, equally find you an inexorable foe!

The book keeps going