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Robert Burns Scotland's most famous poet is known by many names including: Rabbie Burns, The Ploughman Poet & The Bard.
He was born January 25 1759, in Alloway, South Ayrshire, Scotland. The house he was born in still stands. It was built by his father William Burness a tenant farmer. His Burns' mother, Agnes Broun, was a daughter of a tenant farmer.
Later Burns would change the spelling of his surname from "Burness" to "Burns".
When Burns was 7 his father sold the house & took tenancy of nearby 70 acre Mount Oliphant farm. The land was unproductive & the family suffered. Hard manual work, at a young age, severely affected Burns' health for the rest of his life.
Burns' received little formal education, but his father was self-educated & taught his children.
In 1774, helping at harvest time was a young girl, named Nelly Kilpatrick. She was the inspiration of Robert Burns' first poem, "O, Once I Lov'd A Bonnie Lass".
In 1777, William Burness moved the family to a farm at Lochlea, near Tarbolton & the situation improved considerably. In 1779, Robert Burns joined a country dancing school. In 1780, he & his brother Gilbert formed a debating society, the Tarbolton Bachelors' Club. A club rule was:
"Every man proper for a member of this Society, must have a frank, honest, open heart; above anything dirty or mean; & must be a professed lover of one or more of the female sex. No haughty, self-conceited person, who looks upon himself as superior to the rest of the Club, & especially no mean spirited, worldly mortal, whose only will is to heap up money shall upon any pretence whatever be admitted."
In 1781 Robert Burns was initiated into the Freemasons, he was a member for the rest of his life. In 1784 William Burness died & the family moved to Mossgiel Farm, near Mauchline. In Mauchline Robert Burns met a group of girls, known as "The Belles Of Mauchline". One of these was Jean Armour.
In 1785 Burns' first illegitimate child Elizabeth Paton Burns was born. The mother was Elizabeth Paton, servant to Robert Burns' mother. In 1786 Jean Armour gave birth to twins. Burns & Jean Armour married in 1788, which did not end his infidelities.
In 1786 Burns had an affair with Mary Campbell. History knows her as "Highland Mary". Burns dedicated three poems to Mary Campbell, "The Highland Lassie O", "Highland Mary" & "To Mary in Heaven". She died of fever the same year.
In 1786 Robert Burns published "Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect". This was well received & he was invited to Edinburgh to prepare a new edition. There he met James Johnson, an engraver & music seller determined to preserve old Scottish Songs. Robert Burns became a major contributor. He returned home in 1788 & took a lease out on Ellisland Farm, Burns also resumed his relationship with Jean Armour.
As security against the precarious nature of farming, Burns trained as an exciseman, & in 1789 he began work for the Customs & Excise service.
"Tam O'Shanter" is a classic narrative poem written by Robert Burns in 1790. It tells of a man who ignores his wife's warnings about his drinking & stays too long at a public house. When he finally leaves Tam O'Shanter travels back on horseback, through a raging storm. On his journey he encounters a group of witches & warlocks. After a chase Tam O'Shanter manages to cross a bridge to safety, but his horse looses its tail in the pursuit.
In 1791, Burns gave up Ellisland Farm & moved to the center of Dumfries. The hardships' of his early life took their toll, combined with drinking, his health was in serious decline. July 21 1796, Robert Burns died aged just 37. Initially Burns was buried in St. Michael's Churchyard in Dumfries. Later in 1815 his body was moved to the Burns Mausoleum. Jean Armour, Burns' wife, died in 1834 & is buried next to him.
Around the January 25, the birth date of Robert Burns, celebrations of his life take place, normally in the form of a meal. The format of the evening has remained very much unchanged since the first such meal, held by close friends of Burns, a few years after his death. Central to the meal is the haggis.
The haggis is a form of sausage made of sheep's heart, liver & lungs minced with onion & oatmeal. Traditionally this is then encased in sheep's intestines & boiled. After cooking, the haggis is brought into the room by the chef, accompanied by the sound of bagpipes.
The chairman, or an invited guest, recites Robert Burns' poem, "Address To A Haggis". It is then cut & served to the guests. The haggis is served with "neeps & tatties". "Neeps" is mashed swede & "tatties" is mashed potato. After the meal, the evening continues with various speeches & toasts being drunk. Guests are entertained by singing & recitals of Burns' poems.
27 ноя 2013
