Most of us understand the basics of Burns Night. Each year (exactly
a month after Christmas – just when we all need to blow the January blues away)
the Scots give us all an excuse for a big knees-up to celebrate the birth of Scotland’s
most famous poet, Robert Burns.
At this grey and drizzly time of year, the prospect of a raucous
night sampling drams of whisky and linking arms in a reel with tartan-clad pals
is the only thing lighting the way to February. It’s time to hail the bagpipes
and practise reciting ‘A Red, Red Rose’ in your best Scottish accent (only
please don’t look to Mike Myers in ‘Shrek’ for inspiration). With the
comforting, carb-rich food (let’s face it – the January diet has long been
abandoned) and ceremonial touches like piping in and addressing the haggis, there’s
nothing not to like about Burns Night. Besides the general merry-making, it’s a
chance to show appreciation for the Greatest Scot (as voted for by the Scottish
public) – the man who gave us something to sing along to at the stroke of
midnight each New Year’s Eve.
But it’s all too easy to pigeon-hole Burns as purely a
talented wordsmith. His poetic finesse is indisputable, but beyond ‘Auld Lang
Syne’ and ‘Tam O’ Shanter’ – how much do most of us know about his poetry? This
Burns Night, we’re reveling more enthusiastically than ever, but instead of
admiring his verses, we’re looking at the man behind the quill. Join us in
celebrating the other wonderful, lesser-known things about the Scottish Bard –
and there are plenty to choose from. So as you raise your glass – or your kilt
– to Scotland’s national treasure this Burns Night, keep these wee nuggets in
mind:
1. He Was a Self-Made Grafter
Burns’ father was a farmer who taught
himself to read and write. Whilst young Robert was lucky to receive some
education, it was often sporadic and interrupted by farm duties, like
harvest-time. He knew what it was to live in poverty and his health suffered as
a result of early exposure to farm labour – he had a life-long stoop of the
shoulders. Burns was a true grafter, building his writing, influential contacts
and career piece by piece until days in the fields were a long-gone memory and
his first volume of poetry was being snapped up across the land. Burns was the
original ‘boy done good.’
2. He Made Love
Not War
Burns fell in love… a lot. Whilst adultery isn’t something
generally desirable in a national treasure (at least not in buttoned-up Britain)
during his lifetime Burns fell in love with, married and had children by many
women. Rather than being remembered as a scoundrel though, history – and the
women themselves – recall him as a passionate artist… women were his muses, not
concubines. Indeed, he once commented that, “The finest hours
that e’er I spent were spent amang the lasses, O!” This sometimes over-zealous fondness
for women led to the birth of at least 12 little Burnses and now there are over
600 relatives of Burns around the world… you might want to check your
genealogy.
3. He Owned the Room
Once Burns’ success took off, he found
himself rubbing shoulders with the aristocrats of Edinburgh society. But
instead of suffering an inferiority complex, he owned every room he walked into...
he was an 18th century Jay-Z. He stood strong and proud, didn’t say
too much and was always dignified. A young Walter Scott encountered him at one
of these gatherings, commenting later that “His person was strong and robust; his manners
rustic, not clownish. A sort of dignified plainness and simplicity which
came…perhaps from knowledge of his extraordinary talents.” Yes, Rabbie Burns
had swagger.
4. He Believed in
Power to the People
Way ahead of his time, Burns was thinking about – and
speaking openly about – equal rights. He learned about the slave trade and wrote
‘A Slave’s Lament’ taking a keen interest in the abolitionist movement from its
early days. Unlike other men of the time, he also believed women should have
voices, were not merely property and deserved the same rights and freedoms as
men. He supported the French Revolution and other revolts across Europe at the
time… his forward-thinking beliefs weren’t always shared by the aristocrats in
his circle (they wanted their necks to avoid the same fate as their French
counterparts), but his passion for Scotland won their hearts.
5. His Candle
Went Out Too Soon
At the age of just 37, Robbie Burns died. His professional
future was at its brightest but his body was ailing – since his farming days,
his heart had been weak. Following a tooth extraction (sorry, Dentist-fearers),
he passed away at his home in Dumfries – tragically his last child, Maxwell, was
born on the day as his funeral. As with all Greats who die young, we can only
wonder what he may have gone on to achieve, both artistically and socially. His
work influenced the Romantic poets of the next century and he instantly gained
a place in the hearts of the Scottish people – the first Burns Night was
celebrated just 6 years after he died and has been the brightest part of
January – including the sales – ever since.
