Burns, Robert - short biography. Robert Burns short biography Robert Burns famous

Robert Burns is born January 25, 1759 years in the village of Alloway (Scotland), in the family of the peasant William Burness.

In 1765, his father leased the Mount Oliphant farm, and the boy had to work like adults, enduring hunger and undermining his health.

In 1781, Burns joined the Masonic lodge; Freemasonry had a strong influence on his work.

From 1783, Robert began to compose poetry in the Ayshire dialect.

In 1784, his father died, and after a number of unsuccessful attempts to engage in agriculture, Robert and his brother Gilbert moved to Mossgiel.

Burns's first book was published in 1786. Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish dialect(“The poems are predominantly in the Scottish dialect”). The initial period of creativity also includes: “John Barleycorn” (1782), “The Jolly Beggars” (1785), “The Prayer of Saint Willie,” “Holy Fair” (1786). The poet quickly becomes known throughout Scotland.

In 1787, Burns moved to Edinburgh and became a member of the capital's high society. In Edinburgh, Burns met the popularizer of Scottish folklore, James Johnson, with whom they began publishing the collection “The Scottish Musical Museum.” In this publication, the poet published many Scottish ballads in his own adaptation and his own works.

Published books bring Burns a certain income. He tried to invest the money he earned in renting a farm, but only lost his small capital. The main source of livelihood from 1791 was work as an excise collector in Dumfries.

Robert Burns led a fairly free lifestyle, and he had three illegitimate daughters from casual and short-lived relationships. In 1787, he married his longtime lover Jean Armor. In this marriage he had five children.

In the period 1787-1794, the famous poems “Tam O'Shanter” (1790) and “Honest Poverty” (1795), “Ode Dedicated to the Memory of Mrs. Oswald” (1789) were created. In a poem dedicated to John Anderson (1789), the thirty-year-old author unexpectedly reflects on the decline of life, on death.

In essence, Burns was forced to study poetry in between his main work. He spent his last years in poverty and a week before his death he almost ended up in debtor's prison.

Burns passed away July 21, 1796 in Dumfries, where he went sick on official business 2 weeks before his death. He was only 37 years old.

The year his father dies, and after a number of unsuccessful attempts to engage in agriculture, Robert and his brother Gilbert move to Mossgiel. Burns's first book is published this year. Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish dialect(“The poems are predominantly in the Scottish dialect”). The initial period of creativity also includes: “John Barleycorn” (John Barleycorn, I782), “The Jolly Beggars” (“The Jolly Beggars”, 1785), “Holy Willie's Prayer”, “St. fair" (“The Holy Fair”, 1786). The poet quickly becomes known throughout Scotland.

About the origins of Burns’s popularity, I. Goethe noted:

Let's take Burns. Isn’t it because he is great because the old songs of his ancestors lived in the mouths of the people, because they sang them to him, so to speak, back when he was in the cradle, because as a boy he grew up among them and became close to the high perfection of these samples that he found do they have that living foundation, based on which you could go further? And also, is it not because he is great that his own songs immediately found receptive ears among his people, that they then sounded towards him from the lips of the reapers and sheaf binders, that they were used to greet his cheerful comrades in the tavern? Something really could have worked out here.
Johann Peter Eckermann. Gespräche mit Goethe in den letzten Jahren seines Lebens. Leipzig, 1827.

In 1787, Burns moved to Edinburgh and became a member of the capital's high society. In Edinburgh, Burns met the popularizer of Scottish folklore James Johnson, with whom they began publishing the collection “The Scot's Musical Museum”. In this publication, the poet published many Scottish ballads in his own adaptation and his own works.

Published books bring Burns a certain income. He tried to invest the money he earned in renting a farm, but only lost his small capital. The main source of livelihood since 1791 was work as a tax collector in Damphies.

Robert Burns led a fairly free lifestyle and had three illegitimate daughters from casual and short-lived relationships. In 1787, he married his longtime lover Jean Armor. In this marriage he had five children.

In the period 1787-1794, the famous poems “Tarn o” Shanter” (“Tarn o” Shanter”, 1790) and “Honest Poverty” (“For A” That and A” That”, 1795), “Ode dedicated to the memory” were created Mrs. Oswald" (“Ode, sacred to the Memory of Mrs. Oswald”, 1789).

In essence, Burns was forced to engage in poetry in between his main work. He spent his last years in poverty and almost ended up in debtor's prison a week before his death.

Main dates of the poet's life

• January 25th birth of Robert Burns
• Robert and his brother go to school
• moving to Mount Oliphant farm
• Robert writes his first poems
• moving to Lochley Farm
• death of father, move to Mossgiel
• Robert meets Jean, "The Jolly Beggars", "The Field Mouse" and many other poems were written
• Burns transfers rights to Mossgiel farm to his brother; birth of twins; trip to Edinburgh
• reception of the poet at the Grand Lodge of Scotland; the first Edinburgh edition of the poems is published; trips around Scotland
• excise work
• appointment to port inspection
• second Edinburgh edition of poetry in two volumes
• December severe Burns disease
• 21 July death of Robert Burns
• Funeral on July 25, on the same day Burns' fifth son, Maxwell, was born

Burns language

monument to the poet in London

Burns, although he studied at a rural school, his teacher was a man with a university education - John Murdoch (1747-1824). Scotland was then experiencing the peak of national revival, was one of the most cultural corners of Europe, and had five universities. Under Murdoch's guidance, Burns studied, among other things, the poetry of Alexander Pope. As the manuscripts testify, Burns had an impeccable command of literary English, but the use of Scots (a northern dialect of English, as opposed to Gaelic, the Celtic Scottish language) was a conscious choice of the poet.

"Burns stanza"

A special form of stanza is associated with the name of Burns: a six-line stanza according to the scheme AAABAB with shortened fourth and sixth lines. A similar scheme is known in medieval lyric poetry, in particular in Provençal poetry (since the 11th century), but its popularity has faded since the 16th century. It survives in Scotland, where it was widely used before Burns, but is associated with his name and is known as the "Burns stanza", although its official name is the standard gabby, it comes from the first work that made this stanza famous in Scotland - "Elegy on Death Gabby Simpson, Piper of Kilbarchan" (c.1640) by Robert Sempill of Beltrees; "Gabby" is not a proper name, but a nickname for natives of the town of Kilbarchan in Western Scotland. This form was also used in Russian poetry, for example, in Pushkin’s poems “Echo” and “Collapse”.

Burns in Russia

The first Russian translation of Burns (prose) appeared already in the city - four years after the poet’s death, but the brochure “Rural Saturday Evening in Scotland”, published in the city, brought fame to Burns’s work. Free imitation of R. Borns I. Kozlov.” Numerous responses appeared in periodicals and in the same year the first literary criticism article in Russia by N. Polevoy “On the life and writings of R. Borns” appeared. Subsequently, V. Belinsky studied Burns’ work. In the library of A. Pushkin there was a two-volume work by Burns. There is a well-known youthful translation of Burns' quatrain, made by M. Lermontov. T. Shevchenko defended his right to create in the “non-literary” (literary language meant exclusively Russian) Ukrainian language, using Burns as an example, writing in the Scottish dialect of English:

But Bornz still sings the people’s great song.
Unpublished works of Shevchenko. 1906.

It seems most likely that all of the above campaigns played a role in promoting the idea of ​​the urgent need for the British Post Office to issue a postage stamp in memory of Robert Burns, and not just one of them.

Some publications of the poet in Russian

• Burns R. My heart is in the mountains: Songs, ballads, epigrams in trans. S. Marshak / R. Burns; Preface Y. Boldyreva; Grav. V. Favorsky. M.: Det. lit.-1971.-191 p.
• Burns R. Poems translated by S. Marshak. / R. Burns; Note M. Morozova; Designed artist V. Dobera.-M.: Artist. lit.-1976.-382 p.
• Burns R. Robert Burns in translations by S. Marshak: [Songs, ballads, poems, epigrams] / R. Burns; Comp. R. Wright; Per. S. Ya. Marshak, R. Wright; Il. V. A. Favorsky.-M.: Pravda, 1979.-271c.: ill., 1 sheet of portrait.-Comment.: p.262-266.
• Burns R. Poems: Trans. from English / Comp. S. V. Moleva; Per. S. Ya. Marshak.-L.: Lenizdat, 1981.-175c.: 1 p. portrait - (School library).
• Robert Burns. Poems. Collection. Comp. I. M. Levidova. In English. and Russian lang.-M.: Raduga.-1982.-705 p.
• Burns R. Selected / R. Burns; Comp., preface. B.I. Kolesnikova.-M.: Moscow. worker.-1982.-254 pp., 1 l. portrait
• Burns R. Poems and songs / R. Burns; Per. from English S. Ya. Marshak, V. Fedotova; Comp., author. entry Art. and comment. B. I. Kolesnikov; Grav. V. Favorsky.-M.: Det. lit.-1987.-175 p.
• Burns R. John Barleycorn / R. Burns; Comp. A. V. Pyatkovskaya; Per. Ya. I. Marshak, A. V. Pyatkovskaya. M.: Mirror M.-1998.-223c.: 1 l. portrait - (Names: XVIII Century / Edited and compiled by Malinovskaya N. R.).
• Burns R. Collection of poetic works / Intro. article, comp. and comment. E. V. Vitkovsky. - M.: Ripol Classic, 1999. - 704 p.
• Burns R. Lyrics: Poems in trans. S. Marshak / R. Burns; Per. S. Ya. Marshak.-M.: Publishing house. "AST": Astrel: Olymp.-2000.-304c. etc. and so on.

Russian bibliography

• A. Elistratova. R. Burns. Critical-biographical essay. M., 1957.
• R. Ya. Wright-Kovalyova. Robert Burns. M., “Young Guard”. 1965. 352 p., with ill. (“The lives of remarkable people.” Series of biographies. Issue 26 (276).)

Links

• Burns, Robert in the library of Maxim Moshkov (Russian)
• Robert Burns Country - the "official" website of Robert Burns
• Robert Burns. Life story (Russian)
• Celebration of the 250th anniversary of Robert Burns in Moscow in 2009 (Russian)

Notes

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

See what "Robert Burns" is in other dictionaries:

- (English Robert Burns Woodward) (April 10, 1917, Boston, Massachusetts July 8, 1979, Cambridge, Massachusetts) American organic chemist, member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Biography Graduated (1936) Massachusetts... ... Wikipedia

Woodward, Robert Burns- Robert Burns Woodward. Woodward, Robert Burns WOODWARD Robert Burns (1917 79), American organic chemist. He synthesized many biologically active substances (quinine, cortisone, chlorophyll, vitamin B12, etc.), for which he was nicknamed “the king... ... Illustrated Encyclopedic Dictionary

There is perhaps no poet in the world who has been so well known and sung for two centuries in his native country. The lines of his best poems became slogans. His words became sayings and proverbs. His songs returned to the people. This is what critics wrote about the Scottish poet Robert Burns.

The life and work of Robert Burns

He was born on January 25, 1759 in West Scotland. His father was a gardener. After many years of service on noble estates, he rented a plot of land, built a house, and by the age of 40 he married a 25-year-old orphan, the modest and hard-working Agness Broun. Having regretted his lack of education all his life, William, along with other farmers, hired a teacher, Murdoch, in a neighboring village, who taught his children to read and write for two and a half years. Thoughtful beyond his years, six-year-old Robert Burns was first in spelling and amazed everyone with his exceptional memory.

A year later, the family changed their place of residence, moving to another farm. The Burnses lived a secluded life, devoting almost all their time to work, and in the evenings the father taught the children grammar and arithmetic. These lessons were not enough for the capable Robert, and William again sent his son to study with Murdoch. In a few weeks, Robert mastered grammar and began to study French. However, after a couple of months the young man had to return to the farm - they couldn’t cope there without him.

While harvesting grain, 14-year-old Burns fell in love with a girl who worked with him, Nellie Kilpatrick, and composed his first song for her. “This is how love and poetry began for me,” he later wrote. At the age of 15, Robert’s father sent him to a surveying school located in one of the fishing villages. There the young man saw another very pretty girl. New passionate poems were written for her. After a year I had to leave my studies. The family moved to a new farm, which had to be raised again.

Robert plowed the land for a whole week, and on Sundays he escaped from boredom at home, went to dance lessons and to a tavern, whose visitors loved Burns for his poems about the life of farmers. At the age of 22, he entered the Masonic lodge, in the charter of which he was attracted by clauses on equality and mutual assistance to all brothers, regardless of origin. That same year, Burns read Fergusson's Scottish poetry and realized that his native language, which the English considered a vernacular dialect, was no worse than any literary language.

In 1784, after the death of the head of the family, the Burns moved again. Here, 25-year-old Robert fell in love with the maid Betty, who bore him a daughter. Burns did not intend to get married, but said that he would raise the girl himself. He later met the daughter of a wealthy contractor, Jean Arvar. The young people secretly, according to ancient custom, signed a contract in which they recognized themselves as husband and wife. When her parents found out that Jean was pregnant, they forced her to leave town.

Proud Robert considered this a betrayal on the part of the girl, and for a long time refused to see her. When she gave birth to twins, he took his son to live with him. The weak Armora girl was left in her family. She later died. At this time, Robert's songs became interested in one landowner. With his assistance, Burns's first collection with the poems “Two Dogs” and “A Countryman's Saturday Evening” was published in July 1786. Within a week, the 27-year-old poet-farmer became famous.

He visited Edinburgh, where he impressed secular society with his good manners and education. The capital's publisher Critch invited him to publish a second collection, promised a decent reward, but paid only a portion. At the age of 39, after much torment, Robert married his beloved Jean and settled with her on the Aliceland farm. He decided to take the path of virtue, but one day he fell in love with the innkeeper’s niece Anna. Later he admitted to his wife that Anna gave birth to a girl from him and died during childbirth. Jean took the baby and raised her as her own.

The land did not bring Burns any income, and he secured a position as an excise official. He combined his official duties with poetry. For many years Burns collected old Scottish songs. On July 21, 1796, Burns died. After the funeral, Jean gave birth to her fifth son. Thanks to the poet's influential fans, his wife and children subsequently needed nothing.

• A certain Dr. Kerry, a man of strict rules, created a biography of Burns, interpreting many facts in his own way, portraying the poet as a rake and a drunkard. Only later researchers brought clarity to the biography of the Scottish bard.

Robert Burns's birthday, January 25, is a national holiday in Scotland. This day is also celebrated by fans of the poet’s work all over the world.

Robert Burns - Scottish poet, folklorist, author of numerous poems and poems - was born January 25, 1759 in the village of Alloway (three kilometers south of the city of Ayr, Ayrshire), in the family of the peasant William Burness (1721-1784).

In 1765 his father rented the Mount Oliphant farm, and the boy had to work like adults, enduring hunger and other hardships. In 1781 Burns joined the Masonic lodge; Freemasonry had a strong influence on his work. Since 1783 Robert begins to write poetry in the Ayshire dialect.

Although Burns studied at a rural school, his teacher was a man with a university education - John Murdoch (1747-1824). Scotland was then experiencing the peak of national revival, was one of the most cultural corners of Europe, and had five universities. Under Murdoch's guidance, Burns studied, among other things, the poetry of Alexander Pope. As the manuscripts testify, Burns had an impeccable command of literary English (he wrote “The Villager’s Saturday Evening,” “Sonnet to the Blackbird” and some other poems in it). The use of Scottish (“the dialect” of English, as opposed to Gaelic - the Celtic Scottish language) in most works is a conscious choice of the poet, declared in the title of the first collection.

In 1784 his father dies, and after a number of unsuccessful attempts to engage in farming, Robert and his brother Gilbert move to Mossgiel. In 1786 Burns's first book, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish dialect, is published. The initial period of creativity also includes: “John Barleycorn” (John Barleycorn, 1782 ), “Jolly Beggars” (“The Jolly Beggars”, 1785 ), “Holy Willie’s Prayer”, “The Holy Fair”, 1786 ). The poet quickly becomes known throughout Scotland.

In 1787 Burns moves to Edinburgh and becomes a member of the capital's high society. In Edinburgh, Burns met the popularizer of Scottish folklore James Johnson, with whom they began publishing the collection “The Scot’s Musical Museum”. In this publication, the poet published many Scottish ballads in his own adaptation and his own works.

Published books bring Burns a certain income. He tried to invest the money he earned in renting a farm, but only lost his small capital. Main source of livelihood since 1791 became a job as an excise collector in Dumfries.

Robert Burns led a fairly free lifestyle, and he had three illegitimate daughters from casual and short-lived relationships. In 1787 he married his longtime lover Jean Armor. In this marriage he had five children.

During 1787-1794 the famous poem "Tam o'Shanter" was created 1790 ) and “Honest Poverty” (“A Man’s A Man For A’ That”, 1795 ), "Ode, sacred to the Memory of Mrs. Oswald", 1789 ). In a poem dedicated to John Anderson ( 1789 ), the thirty-year-old author unexpectedly reflects on the decline of life, on death.

In essence, Burns was forced to study poetry in between his main work. He spent his last years in poverty and a week before his death he almost ended up in debtor's prison.

Robert Burns has died July 21, 1796 in Dumfries, where he went sick on official business 2 weeks before his death. He was only 37 years old. Burns biographer James Currie suggested that one of the reasons for Burns's sudden death was excessive alcohol consumption. However, 20th-century historians suggest that since James Curry himself was an activist in the temperance society, perhaps his point of view was not entirely objective. Modern biographers are inclined to believe that Burns died from the consequences of hard physical labor in his youth and chronic rheumatic heart disease, which the poet suffered from childhood, and in 1796 the disease was aggravated by diphtheria.

Robert Burns is a popular Scottish poet and folklorist. During his prolific career he wrote many poems and poems in English and Scots. His birthday, January 25, is still celebrated as a national holiday throughout Scotland.

National holiday

Robert Burns is a truly unique poet. There are few countries in which there is a writer whose birthday has been celebrated according to a pre-established procedure for more than two centuries.

January 25 is a real national holiday in Scotland, which is remembered by all its residents. On this day, it is customary to set a rich table made up of dishes that the poet sang in his works. First of all, it is a rich pudding called haggis. It is prepared from lamb offal (liver, heart and lungs), mixed with lard, onions, salt and all kinds of seasonings, and then boiled in a lamb stomach.

According to ancient tradition, it is customary to bring these dishes into the room accompanied by Scottish bagpipes, and before starting the feast, one should read the poems of Burns himself. For example, “Zazdravny Toast”, known in Russia as translated by Samuil Marshak, or “Ode to Scottish Haggis Pudding”. On this day, the poet’s name day is celebrated by admirers of his work around the world.

Childhood and youth

Robert Burns was born in 1759. He was born in a small Scottish village called Alloway, which is located just three kilometers from the town of Ayr in Ayrshire. His father was a peasant named William.

In 1760, William Burns rented a farm, introducing Robert and his brother to hard physical labor from an early age. They did almost all the dirty and hard work themselves. At that time, the family did not live well, there were always problems with money, and at times there was even nothing to eat. Due to the fact that Robert Burns often went hungry as a child, this negatively affected his health in the future. He constantly had problems with his health.

In between work, Robert Burns literally voraciously read all the books in a row. Literally everything he could get his hands on in his small village.

As a rule, these were inexpensive brochures with a simple plot and content. But it was thanks to them, as well as the knowledge that his mother and servants passed on to him, that the hero of our article became acquainted with traditional Scottish folklore. In the future, it became an important part of his life and was reflected in most of Robert Burns' books. He wrote his first poems in 1774.

Moving

An important new stage in the biography of Robert Burns is the move to a farm called Lochley, which took place in 1777, when he was 18 years old.

Here he found many like-minded people who, like Burns himself, were interested in literature, Scottish history and folklore. As a result, he becomes the organizer of the Bachelors' Club.

In 1781, Robert Burns came under the influence of the Freemasons. This fact has a serious impact on all his subsequent works, and on his creative style itself.

Popularity

The hero of our article becomes popular in his homeland in Scotland after the publication of two satirical poems entitled “The Two Shepherds” and “The Prayer of Saint Willie.” These books by Robert Burns are published in 1784 and 1785 respectively.

But what makes him truly famous as a writer are his “Poems written primarily in the Scottish dialect.” This collection was published in 1786.

The next year he comes to Edinburgh, where he quickly becomes a welcome guest in high society. Robert Burns's poems are valued in aristocratic circles, so he immediately has influential patrons. The hero of our article himself soon becomes the owner of the unofficial status of “Bard of Caledonia.” His name is assigned by the Masonic Grand Lodge.

Since 1783, Burns has written many of his works in the Ayshire dialect. And in 1784 his father died. The hero of our article, together with his brother, are trying to manage the farm together, taking care of the affairs of the farm, but after several unsuccessful attempts they leave it.

By this period of creativity, which can be called the initial period, such famous poems by Robert Burns as “John Barleycorn”, “Holy Fair”, “The Prayer of Holy Willie” were published. His fame spreads throughout the country.

It is interesting how the German poet Johann Wolfgang Goethe assessed its popularity. Goethe emphasized that the greatness of Burns lies in the fact that the old ancestors of his native people always lived in the mouths of all his relatives. It was in them that he found a living foundation, relying on which he was able to advance so far. In addition, his own songs immediately found fertile ears among his own people, as they often sounded from the lips of sheaf binders and reapers who walked towards him.

Life in Edinburgh

Since 1787, Burns began to live permanently in Edinburgh. Here he meets national music fan James Johnson. Together they begin to publish a collection, which they give the name “Scottish Music Museum”. The hero of our article remains its editor almost until the end of his life.

Together with Johnson, they are promoting Scottish folklore. This publication publishes a large number of ballads arranged by Burns himself, as well as his own original works.

They collected texts and melodies by any means from all kinds of sources, and if some lines turned out to be irretrievably lost or too frivolous, Robert Burns, a famous poet of his time, replaced them with his own. Moreover, he did it so skillfully that it was simply impossible to distinguish them from folk ones.

He also paid attention to the release of the collection "Selected Collection of Original Scottish Tunes".

All these books brought a good income to Burns himself and his companion Johnson. True, as soon as the hero of our article had his first small capital, he invested all of it in renting a farm, but as a result he completely went bankrupt. In 1789, he finally abandoned attempts to establish his own business.

In 1790, having connected his own connections, of which he had accumulated quite a few by that time, Burns got a job as an exciseman in a rural area. Within a few months, he was transferred to Dumfries for his diligent service, and his salary became the poet’s main source of income for the coming years.

Due to his busy schedule, he could not devote as much time to poetry as he would have liked. Robert Burns's poems began to appear much less frequently. His poems “Honest Poverty”, “Tam o' Shanter”, as well as “Ode to the Memory of Mrs. Oswald” can be attributed to this period. In 1793, Robert Burns published his best works for the second time in two volumes.

In 1789 he wrote a famous poem dedicated to John Anderson. In it, the author, who is only 30 years old, begins to reflect on the prospect of death, the end of life’s journey, which surprises his researchers, and his contemporaries reacted to this with bewilderment.

Personal life

Speaking about the personal life of the hero of our article, it is worth noting that Burns led a very free lifestyle. He had three illegitimate daughters at once, who were born as a result of short-lived and casual relationships.

Robert Burns's wife's name was Jean Armor. She was his longtime lover, he had been courting her for several years. In total, five children were born to the happy parents.

All this time, Burns had to practice poetry virtually in between his main job, which was vital for him to support his family.

At the same time, he had very good prospects for moving up the career ladder. But his poor health did not allow him to achieve success in the service.

At the end of life

Moreover, the last years of his life, even despite such diligence, he spent in poverty and deprivation. Moreover, a week before his death he almost ended up in debtor's prison.

The poet died in July 1796 in Dumfries, where he went on official business for two weeks. It is known that at that time he was already sick, felt very bad, but still had to go to settle all matters. At that time he was only 37 years old.

Burns' authoritative biographer James Currie suggests that one of the reasons for his sudden death was alcohol abuse. But modern researchers believe that Curry himself may not have been completely objective, since he was in a temperance society, perhaps in this way he wanted to once again convince the public of the dangers of drinking alcohol.

A more convincing version is that Burns died from a whole range of problems. They were caused by backbreaking physical labor since childhood, which actually undermined his health. Chronic rheumatic carditis, which he suffered for many years, most likely since childhood, also played a role. In 1796, his condition worsened significantly after he contracted diphtheria.

On the day of the Scottish poet's funeral, his wife Jean Armor gave birth to their fifth child. The work of Robert Burns received the highest appreciation not only in his homeland, but also far beyond its borders. His work was distinguished by emotional, lively and expressive poetry. His works have been translated into dozens of languages, including Russian, and his ballads formed the basis for a large number of songs.

"Honest Poverty"

A classic example of a work by Robert Burns (we will discuss its summary in this article) is the poem “Honest Poverty.” Here is an excerpt from it translated by Samuil Marshak, thanks to which most of the works of this Scottish poet are known to the average Russian reader.

Who's honest poverty

Ashamed and everything else

The most pathetic of people

Cowardly slave and so on.

For all that,

For all that,

Even if you and I are poor,

Wealth -

Stamp on gold

And the gold one -

We ourselves!

We eat bread and drink water,

We cover ourselves with rags

And all that stuff

Meanwhile, a fool and a rogue

Dressed in silk and drinking wine

And all that stuff.

For all that

For all that,

Don't judge by the dress.

Whoever feeds himself by honest labor -

I call these people nobility.

In the eyes of the author of the work, an honest person, even if he is poor, is worthy of great respect. This is the main motive of Robert Burns' poem (a summary of it is in the article). The true dignity for which a person should be respected is hard work and intelligence.

As the poet asserts, a silk dress will not help to hide stupidity, and expensive wine will never be able to drown dishonesty. Even the ruler cannot solve this problem. He can appoint his lackey as a general, but he is not able to make anyone an honest person unless the person himself wishes it.

The poem ends with Burns's prediction that sooner or later the hour will come when honor and intelligence, rather than flattery and rewards, will come first and will be truly valued.

It is worth noting that the poem has a perky refrain: “For all that, for all that.” This makes it very musical, it goes well with music, it can easily be turned into a fun folk song with meaning.

For many years, this work inspired the souls of poor people, instilled in them confidence in themselves and in the future, awakened human dignity, which is always important to preserve.

According to reviews of Robert Burns, many of his works are exactly like this. They denounce deceit, vanity and stupidity, paying tribute to honesty, sincerity and conscientious work. Burns himself adhered to these principles in his life.

Features of the language

Stories about Robert Burns always focus on his unique language, which immediately sets him apart from most other poets. It is worth noting that he received his basic education at a rural school, but his teacher was John Murdoch, a man with a university diploma.

At the time when the poet’s fame flourished, his native Scotland was at the peak of national revival and was considered one of the most cultural corners of Europe at that time. For example, on the territory of this small state there were five universities at once.

Murdoch did a lot to ensure that Burns received a comprehensive education; he saw that before him was the most talented of his students. In particular, they paid great attention to poetry, especially to the outstanding representative of British classicism of the 18th century, Alexander Pope.

Surviving manuscripts indicate that Burns had an impeccable command of literary English. In particular, “Sonnet to a Blackbird”, “The Villager’s Saturday Evening” and some of his other works were written on it.

In many of his other texts, he actively used the Scots language, which was considered at that time one of the dialects of English. This was his conscious choice, which was declared in the title of the first collection - “Poems predominantly in the Scottish dialect.”

Initially, many of his works were specifically created as songs. It was not difficult, since the texts were musical and rhythmic. Russian composers, including Georgy Sviridov and Dmitry Shostakovich, also created musical works.

Burns' songs are often used in films, including domestic ones. For example, the romance “Love and Poverty” is heard in Viktor Titov’s musical comedy “Hello, I’m your aunt!” performed by Alexander Kalyagin, in Eldar Ryazanov's lyrical comedy "Office Romance" the song "There is no peace for my soul" is performed by Alisa Freindlikh, and from the lips of Olga Yaroshevskaya we hear the composition "Love is like a red rose" in Pavel Lyubimov's school melodrama "School Waltz".

Translations into Russian

The first translation of Burns's poetic work into Russian appeared in 1800, four years after the death of the author himself. However, it became popular in Russia only in 1829, when a brochure entitled “Rural Saturday Evening in Scotland. Free imitation of R. Borns by I. Kozlov” was published.

It is known that Belinsky was fond of the work of the Scottish poet; his two-volume work was in the library of Alexander Pushkin. In 1831, Vasily Zhukovsky made a free adaptation of one of the most famous works of the hero of our article - the poem “John Barleycorn”. Zhukovsky called it “Confession of a cambric shawl.” It is known that in his youth Burns was translated by Lermontov.

Taras Shevchenko often cited Burns as an example when he defended his right to create in Ukrainian and not in Russian.

In the Soviet Union, his poems gained wide popularity thanks to the translations of Samuil Marshak. He first took up this work in 1924. Moreover, the first full-fledged collection was published only in 1947. In total, during his life he translated 215 works of his Scottish colleague into Russian, which is approximately two-fifths of his creative heritage.

It is worth noting that Marshak’s translations are often quite far from the original. But they have the ease of language characteristic of Burns himself and the maximum simplicity to which he strived. The elevated emotional mood is as close as possible to the mood of the Scottish poet. They were highly appreciated by Korney Chukovsky, who was considered a specialist in literary translation. In 1959, Marshak was even elected honorary chairman of the Burns Federation, which was founded in Scotland.

In recent years, translations of Burns's poems performed by other authors have appeared in large numbers. But Marshak is criticized, sometimes calling his texts inadequate.

To summarize, it should be noted that the popularity of this Scottish poet in our country is so great that up to 90% of his creative heritage has already been translated.