The Poetry of Robert Burns and the Relationship of his Contemporaries to it

Essay from the year 2000 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 1.7 (A-), University of Southern California (English Department), course: 19th century british literatures and cultures, language: English, abstract: Robert Burns, born on the 25th of January in Alloway/Ayrshire, is considered to be the greatest national folk poet Scotland ever had, and he mainly has this status because of his songs. There is hardly anybody in the world that doesn't know 'Auld Lang Syne'. Apart from that Burns is considered as the poet of the common people. He wrote poetry that was directly linked to their lives. Is there another poet who wrote poems about lower animals like a mouse or a louse before him? Today there even is a yearly Burns Supper that is held on his Birthday, where the people meet, have a rather rich meal and recite his poetry and sing his songs. But is that really all about the Poet, who by some people also is considered as the man who had an impact on the 'formation' of romanticism and therefore also on his contemporaries? Of course it isn't. In this paper I shall try to show the relationship and the nature of impact Burns' poetry had on his contemporaries and also the differences of opinion that could even change over the time in one and the same person as the example of William Wordsworth shows.