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Poems Selected From The Works Of Robert Burns
This scarce antiquarian book is included in our special Legacy Reprint Series. In the interest of creating a more extensive selection of rare historical book reprints, we have chosen to reproduce this title even though it may possibly have occasional imperfections such as missing and blurred pages, missing text, poor pictures, markings, dark backgrounds and other reproduction issues beyond our control. Because this work is culturally important, we have made it available as a part of our commitment to protecting, preserving and promoting the world's literature.
176 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1898
About the author
Robert Burns
2,669 books361 followersRobert Burns (also known as Robin) was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who have written in the Scots language. He also wrote in English and a "light" Scots, accessible to an audience beyond Scotland.
He is regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement and after his death became a great source of inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism. A cultural icon in Scotland and among the Scottish Diaspora around the world, celebration of his life and work became almost a national charismatic cult during the 19th and 20th centuries, and his influence has long been strong on Scottish literature.
As well as making original compositions, Burns collected folk songs from across Scotland, often revising or adapting them. His Auld Lang Syne is often sung at Hogmanay (the last day of the year), and Scots Wha Hae has served as an unofficial national anthem. Other poems and songs of Burns that remain well-known across the world today, include A Red, Red Rose, A Man's A Man for A' That, To a Louse, To a Mouse, The Battle of Sherramuir, Tam o' Shanter and Ae Fond Kiss.
He is regarded as a pioneer of the Romantic movement and after his death became a great source of inspiration to the founders of both liberalism and socialism. A cultural icon in Scotland and among the Scottish Diaspora around the world, celebration of his life and work became almost a national charismatic cult during the 19th and 20th centuries, and his influence has long been strong on Scottish literature.
As well as making original compositions, Burns collected folk songs from across Scotland, often revising or adapting them. His Auld Lang Syne is often sung at Hogmanay (the last day of the year), and Scots Wha Hae has served as an unofficial national anthem. Other poems and songs of Burns that remain well-known across the world today, include A Red, Red Rose, A Man's A Man for A' That, To a Louse, To a Mouse, The Battle of Sherramuir, Tam o' Shanter and Ae Fond Kiss.
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September 8, 2026
Seldom has a poet so deeply embodied the spirit of a nation as is the case with Robert Burns and Scotland. Burns infused his poems with the musicality, the romantic melancholy, and the fighting spirit of the Scottish people – and he did so by setting forth his ideas in a poetic diction that modified Scots Gaelic in such a way as to be understandable and enjoyable to English-speaking readers around the world.
It is no wonder, then, that Robert Burns is one of just three Scottish writers (with Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson) honoured in the Writers’ Museum at Edinburgh. It is likewise no wonder that statues and other memorials to Burns exist not only in his native Scotland, but also in Australia, Canada, England, Estonia, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, and the United States of America.
Wherever people of Scots descent gather, Robert Burns will be among them. What a pleasure it was, therefore, to be reading the poetry of Robert Burns whilst in Scotland, travelling from Glasgow and Edinburgh up to the Highlands and the Isle of Skye.
Robert Burns only lived to be 37 years old; but in his short lifetime, he lived and wrote with gusto. Born in Ayr, on Scotland’s southwestern coast, Burns grew up in circumstances that were poor in temporal terms, but rich intellectually and spiritually; his self-educated father paid careful attention to the education of Burns and his six siblings. His youth was characterized by hard work at physically arduous jobs, but all the while he turned his hand to poetry whenever a spare moment for writing presented itself; and his work quickly gained a devoted audience in Scotland and beyond.
Small wonder, that. Burns speaks with the authentic voice of his Scottish heritage, and at the same time his themes are universal themes that appeal to all.
Burns often found poetic subject matter in the everyday, as with one of his best-known poems, “To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough, November 1785.” The opening lines are well-known:
Wee, sleekit, cow’rin, tim’rous beastie,
O, what a panic’s in thy breastie!
As the speaker addresses the frightened mouse whose little nest has just been accidentally plowed up, I take advantage of the opportunity to offer you this pro tip for enjoying Robert Burns’s poetry:
Read it aloud.
Don’t worry about whether you’re getting the pronunciations right, or about whether you sound “Scottish enough.” Don’t fret if there are individual words you don’t understand (most editions of Burns’s work have footnotes or a glossary anyway). Just read it, and hear and enjoy the musicality of a voice that has charmed readers round the world for more than 200 years now.
Like many poets from later times – Robert Frost comes to mind in this regard – Burns starts with a simple, quotidian observation of something from nature: in this case, a mouse frightened by a farmer’s accidental plowing-up of her nest. The speaker imagines the mouse’s fright at seeing her home destroyed, with winter on the way, but then engages in more profound reflections about what this ordinary wintertime moment might mean in terms of human existence:
But Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain;
The best-laid schemes o’ mice and men
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief and pain,
For promis’d joy!
Still thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me
The present only toucheth thee:
But, Och! I backward cast my e’e,
On prospects drear!
An’ forward, tho’ I canna see,
I guess and fear!
Of Mice and Men. Yes, this is where John Steinbeck got the title for his classic short novel.
And the mouse is indeed “no thy lane” (not alone). We human beings can likewise experience bitter disappointment where we had expected joyous fulfillment. In a way, our situation is worse than that of the mouse – for the mouse “lives in the now,” focused on the concerns of the moment, while we humans can look back to past disappointments, and forward, with fear, to the possibility of future ones.
That’s a lot to gather from a Scottish farmer accidentally hitting a mouse nest with his plow.
“To a Louse, On Seeing One on a Lady’s Bonnet at Church” likewise starts with something small and leads to profound reflections. Amidst the starched, strict propriety of a Church of Scotland service, the poem’s speaker is not about to tap the lady on the shoulder and say, “Excuse me, ma’am, but there’s a louse on your bonnet.” But the parasitic little pest does get the speaker thinking about deeper applications to human life:
O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
An’ foolish notion:
What airs in dress an’ gait wad lea’e us,
An’ ev’n devotion!
“To see ourselves as others see us” – that would indeed be a gift that might lead us away from blundering and putting on airs.
How I wish I had time to talk of “Tam O’ Shanter,” Burns’s well-loved poem about an unfortunate farmer who gets drunk instead of going home to his wife, makes his way to the old abandoned church ruins of Alloway Kirk, and finds there a witches’ sabbath. The witches, demons, and other supernatural beings who have gathered at Alloway Kirk for their unholy rites see Tam and give chase, and the reader is left to hope that Tam’s poor tired horse can muster up the speed to get old Tam away from his hellish pursuers. The story is told with great good humour – and yes, the poem did give its name to those soft flat bonnets that are available in every gift shop in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Just read it for yourself, out loud, and enjoy.
Burns writes about religion -- appreciating the way in which it can encourage moral reform and generosity of heart, but despising the hypocrisy he sees in some of the most noisily pious religious leaders of his society. He writes about Scottish history, expressing appreciation for Scottish heroes like Robert the Bruce, Mary Queen of Scots, Bonnie Prince Charlie, and the Highland heroes who fell at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. He celebrates friendship, hard work, and the fun of raising a glass of good Scotch whiskey with one’s friends after a day of hard work.
And most of all, he writes about love. Burns’s reflections on love have long since become a part of our culture – perhaps most famously when he wrote that “my Luve’s like a red, red rose,/That’s newly sprung in June”.
And another way in which the poetry of Robert Burns touches all our lives comes round every December 31st, when millions upon millions of people sing the following:
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
“Auld lang syne” translates literally as “Old Long Since,” and carries with it the implication of trying to recover, through the power of memory, times long past -- and old acquaintances whose companionship is now lost to us. We’ll take a “cup of kindness” for the sake of those old, lost acquaintances. It’s as if we’re going in search of lost time.
That may not be what Burns originally meant. From what I’ve been reading, Burns’s original intent may have been to convey two old friends, perhaps over a whiskey at an Edinburgh pub, agreeing that their old friendship has value and must be preserved, for old times’ sake.
Yet what “Auld Lang Syne” means now seems quite different. I’ve always found New Year’s Eve to be a singularly odd holiday. Beneath the funny hats and the tooting horns and the falling confetti, and waiting for the ball to drop and show the New Year in lights, and all the passionate kisses at 12:00:01 a.m. as the New Year begins, I sense a certain desperation. You are still here, and I am still here, and that is something to celebrate; but we sense the non-presence of absent friends who are not still here, who have passed from this world. And we reflect that, one day, we will be among those absent friends, remembered by others who are still here when we are gone.
“Auld Lang Syne” captures all those paradoxes, with Robert Burns’s unmistakable magic. And even if your feelings about New Year’s Eve are more optimistic than mine (and more power to you, if so), we can agree that “Auld Lang Syne” is just one of many works through which Robert Burns, a truly great poet, has enriched all our lives. Scotland Forever!
It is no wonder, then, that Robert Burns is one of just three Scottish writers (with Sir Walter Scott and Robert Louis Stevenson) honoured in the Writers’ Museum at Edinburgh. It is likewise no wonder that statues and other memorials to Burns exist not only in his native Scotland, but also in Australia, Canada, England, Estonia, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, and the United States of America.
Wherever people of Scots descent gather, Robert Burns will be among them. What a pleasure it was, therefore, to be reading the poetry of Robert Burns whilst in Scotland, travelling from Glasgow and Edinburgh up to the Highlands and the Isle of Skye.
Robert Burns only lived to be 37 years old; but in his short lifetime, he lived and wrote with gusto. Born in Ayr, on Scotland’s southwestern coast, Burns grew up in circumstances that were poor in temporal terms, but rich intellectually and spiritually; his self-educated father paid careful attention to the education of Burns and his six siblings. His youth was characterized by hard work at physically arduous jobs, but all the while he turned his hand to poetry whenever a spare moment for writing presented itself; and his work quickly gained a devoted audience in Scotland and beyond.
Small wonder, that. Burns speaks with the authentic voice of his Scottish heritage, and at the same time his themes are universal themes that appeal to all.
Burns often found poetic subject matter in the everyday, as with one of his best-known poems, “To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough, November 1785.” The opening lines are well-known:
Wee, sleekit, cow’rin, tim’rous beastie,
O, what a panic’s in thy breastie!
As the speaker addresses the frightened mouse whose little nest has just been accidentally plowed up, I take advantage of the opportunity to offer you this pro tip for enjoying Robert Burns’s poetry:
Read it aloud.
Don’t worry about whether you’re getting the pronunciations right, or about whether you sound “Scottish enough.” Don’t fret if there are individual words you don’t understand (most editions of Burns’s work have footnotes or a glossary anyway). Just read it, and hear and enjoy the musicality of a voice that has charmed readers round the world for more than 200 years now.
Like many poets from later times – Robert Frost comes to mind in this regard – Burns starts with a simple, quotidian observation of something from nature: in this case, a mouse frightened by a farmer’s accidental plowing-up of her nest. The speaker imagines the mouse’s fright at seeing her home destroyed, with winter on the way, but then engages in more profound reflections about what this ordinary wintertime moment might mean in terms of human existence:
But Mousie, thou art no thy lane,
In proving foresight may be vain;
The best-laid schemes o’ mice and men
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief and pain,
For promis’d joy!
Still thou art blest, compar’d wi’ me
The present only toucheth thee:
But, Och! I backward cast my e’e,
On prospects drear!
An’ forward, tho’ I canna see,
I guess and fear!
Of Mice and Men. Yes, this is where John Steinbeck got the title for his classic short novel.
And the mouse is indeed “no thy lane” (not alone). We human beings can likewise experience bitter disappointment where we had expected joyous fulfillment. In a way, our situation is worse than that of the mouse – for the mouse “lives in the now,” focused on the concerns of the moment, while we humans can look back to past disappointments, and forward, with fear, to the possibility of future ones.
That’s a lot to gather from a Scottish farmer accidentally hitting a mouse nest with his plow.
“To a Louse, On Seeing One on a Lady’s Bonnet at Church” likewise starts with something small and leads to profound reflections. Amidst the starched, strict propriety of a Church of Scotland service, the poem’s speaker is not about to tap the lady on the shoulder and say, “Excuse me, ma’am, but there’s a louse on your bonnet.” But the parasitic little pest does get the speaker thinking about deeper applications to human life:
O wad some Power the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
An’ foolish notion:
What airs in dress an’ gait wad lea’e us,
An’ ev’n devotion!
“To see ourselves as others see us” – that would indeed be a gift that might lead us away from blundering and putting on airs.
How I wish I had time to talk of “Tam O’ Shanter,” Burns’s well-loved poem about an unfortunate farmer who gets drunk instead of going home to his wife, makes his way to the old abandoned church ruins of Alloway Kirk, and finds there a witches’ sabbath. The witches, demons, and other supernatural beings who have gathered at Alloway Kirk for their unholy rites see Tam and give chase, and the reader is left to hope that Tam’s poor tired horse can muster up the speed to get old Tam away from his hellish pursuers. The story is told with great good humour – and yes, the poem did give its name to those soft flat bonnets that are available in every gift shop in Edinburgh and Glasgow. Just read it for yourself, out loud, and enjoy.
Burns writes about religion -- appreciating the way in which it can encourage moral reform and generosity of heart, but despising the hypocrisy he sees in some of the most noisily pious religious leaders of his society. He writes about Scottish history, expressing appreciation for Scottish heroes like Robert the Bruce, Mary Queen of Scots, Bonnie Prince Charlie, and the Highland heroes who fell at the Battle of Culloden in 1746. He celebrates friendship, hard work, and the fun of raising a glass of good Scotch whiskey with one’s friends after a day of hard work.
And most of all, he writes about love. Burns’s reflections on love have long since become a part of our culture – perhaps most famously when he wrote that “my Luve’s like a red, red rose,/That’s newly sprung in June”.
And another way in which the poetry of Robert Burns touches all our lives comes round every December 31st, when millions upon millions of people sing the following:
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne!
For auld lang syne, my dear,
For auld lang syne.
We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet,
For auld lang syne.
“Auld lang syne” translates literally as “Old Long Since,” and carries with it the implication of trying to recover, through the power of memory, times long past -- and old acquaintances whose companionship is now lost to us. We’ll take a “cup of kindness” for the sake of those old, lost acquaintances. It’s as if we’re going in search of lost time.
That may not be what Burns originally meant. From what I’ve been reading, Burns’s original intent may have been to convey two old friends, perhaps over a whiskey at an Edinburgh pub, agreeing that their old friendship has value and must be preserved, for old times’ sake.
Yet what “Auld Lang Syne” means now seems quite different. I’ve always found New Year’s Eve to be a singularly odd holiday. Beneath the funny hats and the tooting horns and the falling confetti, and waiting for the ball to drop and show the New Year in lights, and all the passionate kisses at 12:00:01 a.m. as the New Year begins, I sense a certain desperation. You are still here, and I am still here, and that is something to celebrate; but we sense the non-presence of absent friends who are not still here, who have passed from this world. And we reflect that, one day, we will be among those absent friends, remembered by others who are still here when we are gone.
“Auld Lang Syne” captures all those paradoxes, with Robert Burns’s unmistakable magic. And even if your feelings about New Year’s Eve are more optimistic than mine (and more power to you, if so), we can agree that “Auld Lang Syne” is just one of many works through which Robert Burns, a truly great poet, has enriched all our lives. Scotland Forever!
September 26, 2022
Burns is one of the writers who gave me a taste for vernacular literature, for which I will ever be thankful. Fortunately, my edition of his works had an extensive glossary in the back, because the 18th century Gaelic-English dialect had a lot of unfamiliar words. Plenty were understandable through context or phonic similarity, but many definitions quite surprised me!
I knew Burns mostly through his vernacular Scottish poems, but was surprised to see he had facility, if not particular ability, in standard English (such as it was). However, I’m not sure that he’d be so widely known and appreciated today if not for his vernacular poems. They’re special; his other work does not rise above his contemporaries. As a historian I value his vernacular poems and songs deeply. They are like the Carmina Gadelica of folk music and speech, and Burns was placed in a difficult socio-political situation. Did he know the magnitude of what he was saving amidst the Highland clearances? I hope so. Poetry is always better spoken than written, and Burns’s is even more appropriate when sung.
A YouTube playlist of Burns's songs and poems (because if you haven't heard "To a Mouse" in a thick brogue, why are we even here)
The commentary at the end was also helpful, providing musical annotation for the songs and context for the personal and social poems. Sometimes the editor was a little too invested in when the poem was written, but I suppose that’s helpful information for the right type of research. Often the drama (especially political) was illuminating. It’s oddly comforting to know that people of old thought their governors were as ridiculous as we think ours today, and I’m amazed that Burns escaped with his life given certain…phrasings. There’s no shortage of color here.
After the notes, the end matter includes a detailed chronology of Burns’s life and times, a glossary, and indexes by title and first line. I am glad to have spent some time with Burns, but he’s not really a favorite of mine. It’s time to move on to a poet who’s more to my personal taste.
I knew Burns mostly through his vernacular Scottish poems, but was surprised to see he had facility, if not particular ability, in standard English (such as it was). However, I’m not sure that he’d be so widely known and appreciated today if not for his vernacular poems. They’re special; his other work does not rise above his contemporaries. As a historian I value his vernacular poems and songs deeply. They are like the Carmina Gadelica of folk music and speech, and Burns was placed in a difficult socio-political situation. Did he know the magnitude of what he was saving amidst the Highland clearances? I hope so. Poetry is always better spoken than written, and Burns’s is even more appropriate when sung.
A YouTube playlist of Burns's songs and poems (because if you haven't heard "To a Mouse" in a thick brogue, why are we even here)
The commentary at the end was also helpful, providing musical annotation for the songs and context for the personal and social poems. Sometimes the editor was a little too invested in when the poem was written, but I suppose that’s helpful information for the right type of research. Often the drama (especially political) was illuminating. It’s oddly comforting to know that people of old thought their governors were as ridiculous as we think ours today, and I’m amazed that Burns escaped with his life given certain…phrasings. There’s no shortage of color here.
After the notes, the end matter includes a detailed chronology of Burns’s life and times, a glossary, and indexes by title and first line. I am glad to have spent some time with Burns, but he’s not really a favorite of mine. It’s time to move on to a poet who’s more to my personal taste.
January 9, 2019
This collection was read aloud over a series of days by myself; Chelsea Rectanus, owner of Heirloom Books; and Harry White, retired professor of English literature at the bookstore. Most challenging--and fun!--were the poems written in Scottish, for which editor Fraser provides some translation in an appendix. Gradually, we acquired some facility with Scots terms.
As Harry pointed out, Burns stands apart from many of his contemporary poets, his work being concrete, concerned especially with themes of love, sex and conviviality. Much of it is humorous, some of it being satire directed at the Kirk, particularly its conservative wing, and the aristocracy. Much of it was written to be sung to popular tunes. All of it is rather simple, once the vocabulary is mastered.
All in all, reading Burns has made me interested in picking up a biography of the man.
As Harry pointed out, Burns stands apart from many of his contemporary poets, his work being concrete, concerned especially with themes of love, sex and conviviality. Much of it is humorous, some of it being satire directed at the Kirk, particularly its conservative wing, and the aristocracy. Much of it was written to be sung to popular tunes. All of it is rather simple, once the vocabulary is mastered.
All in all, reading Burns has made me interested in picking up a biography of the man.
April 9, 2015
my head hurts a little now, but, i really liked it.
February 16, 2022
did i read 187 pages of burns' poetry over two days? yes
was it a good time? yes
was it a good time? yes
August 7, 2020
This is a difficult one to rate. I know some Scots, but not nearly enough to truly appreciate it when Burns uses it, at least without using the glossary in the back. I preferred his poems about Scottish independence, the wars, and the generally snarky ones. I tried to find as many of the songs as I could online so I could get a better feel for them, and I definitely recommend reading these out loud or finding narrations of them. Sometimes when you read them aloud, you can understand the Scots better because the spellings don't throw you off.
May 11, 2013
My review is on "Selected Poems" by Robert Burns (I noticed the description stated Frost but my ISBN matched their image of the book; my cover is different as it shows Robert Burns as painted by Alexander Nasmyth). I had picked up this book while visiting Scotland several years back and it was a good read then as it is now. His poetry is usually written in dialect which may be difficult to understand for some. However, his lyrical style will capture your ear if not your heart.
My love is like a red red rose
That's newly sprung in June:
My love is like the melodie
That's sweetly play'd in tune....
My love is like a red red rose
That's newly sprung in June:
My love is like the melodie
That's sweetly play'd in tune....
March 6, 2019
Burns’ laid back and down to earth language, tone and subjects perfectly captures everyday life with hilarious wit. A reminder that you do not need to be viewed as great, by yourself or others, to make great things.
Although I will say that I am glad I am from Northern Ireland and could therefore make sense of most of the old Scots colloquialisms which make up Burns’ poems. Not necessarily an easy read - think of the language as Scottish Shakespeare! A little pondering and deciphering will likely be necessary.
Although I will say that I am glad I am from Northern Ireland and could therefore make sense of most of the old Scots colloquialisms which make up Burns’ poems. Not necessarily an easy read - think of the language as Scottish Shakespeare! A little pondering and deciphering will likely be necessary.
June 11, 2021
You would either think that he'd be a semi-literate hick (compare the excessive verse ravings of various poor ministers & the like) or just another tepid anglo rhymer; but his position, intelligent and well-meshed in a genuine folk culture in the last times before Industrialization, permits him to sit well and avoid both issues. From the superb Tristram Shandy he learned the ultimate way of perspectivizing expressions of domestic nonsensicalities and from Alexander Pope he learned how to express truths in a way that emerged from deceitfully simple wit, instead of Miltonian bluster or what have you. As such he develops various scenes and farces (country lovers, free-style theology, carnivalesques&satires, political tunes, etc) with an attitude you don't see very often elsewhere - Wordsworth and Yeats are too studied, and his agrarian predecessors are too foggy&limited, in their perspectives. At times he verges onto various, proto-Tennyson-esque derivations wherein he ruminates on a personal issue with a pretty limited scope and then arrives at a dubious and excessively celebrated solution (that turns out to be a cop-out platitude), but that's the way of poetry...
His concealedly studious attitude lead him to pay attention to typography and spelling, thanks perhaps in part to Mr Lawrence Sterne, and as such even the reader (like I) who knows nothing of Scots can read aloud and hear a pretty decent facsimile. Maybe because of this, the rhythms pour out of him fresh - various foot-substitutions and unusual rhymes/assonances, and a wide variety of metrical structures (and not an heroic couplet to be found!). A great number of these are songs which read quite fluently as lyric poetry but seem best suited for in-depth comparison between their sung melody (almost all tunes are preserved and availably recorded) and the words, which would require a bit of effort (for readers than more devoted than I).
His concealedly studious attitude lead him to pay attention to typography and spelling, thanks perhaps in part to Mr Lawrence Sterne, and as such even the reader (like I) who knows nothing of Scots can read aloud and hear a pretty decent facsimile. Maybe because of this, the rhythms pour out of him fresh - various foot-substitutions and unusual rhymes/assonances, and a wide variety of metrical structures (and not an heroic couplet to be found!). A great number of these are songs which read quite fluently as lyric poetry but seem best suited for in-depth comparison between their sung melody (almost all tunes are preserved and availably recorded) and the words, which would require a bit of effort (for readers than more devoted than I).
Read
December 18, 2024i don’t think i’m enough of a classical poetry fan to enjoy burns’ work as presented in this book but i liked some of it
February 15, 2026
Love the one about a louse.
January 15, 2023
"My love is like a red, red rose
That's newly sprung in June:
My love is like the melody
That's sweetly played in tune."
Can it be?
Is it truly possible?
Have I finally, after all these years, come across some poems that I actually enjoyed?!
It's a miracle!
In all seriousness, though, Robert Burns poems were delightful! At least, the ones that I had to read. "A Red, Red Rose" was the first poem of Robert Burns' that I listened to. Before I knew it, I replayed it again. And again. And again.
Even when I had to move on from it to read the others, I found myself sometimes going back to "A Red, Red Rose." It's definitely my favorite piece of Burns's poetry. In fact, it might be my favorite poetry piece period. And that's something I thought would never happen.
And I think it's a crying shame that this has a lower rating compared to Wordsworth: Poems!
Thank you, Robert Burns, for your poetry.
That's newly sprung in June:
My love is like the melody
That's sweetly played in tune."
Can it be?
Is it truly possible?
Have I finally, after all these years, come across some poems that I actually enjoyed?!
It's a miracle!
In all seriousness, though, Robert Burns poems were delightful! At least, the ones that I had to read. "A Red, Red Rose" was the first poem of Robert Burns' that I listened to. Before I knew it, I replayed it again. And again. And again.
Even when I had to move on from it to read the others, I found myself sometimes going back to "A Red, Red Rose." It's definitely my favorite piece of Burns's poetry. In fact, it might be my favorite poetry piece period. And that's something I thought would never happen.
Thank you, Robert Burns, for your poetry.
July 16, 2013
I've only read the typical required Robert Burns, and that has always been presented in a way that made me think that he was uptight and staid. Nothing could be further from the truth, and after reading the surrounding poems, even the familiar ones seemed to be fresh and full of life and joy.
Yes, the language is challenging for a modern-day American, but lots of poetry is. Get past it and keep reading, because the poems here are exuberant and rapturous. Even when he's lambasting the sanctimonious, there is a vehemence and wit that is delectable. He is at his best when he's plain-spoken. You can see the twinkle in his eye as you hear him recite his work to a crowd of ne'er-do-wells. There was a good cross-section of work in this selection too, lots of different poem structures and subject matter to represent. I will be reading much more Burns in the future.
Yes, the language is challenging for a modern-day American, but lots of poetry is. Get past it and keep reading, because the poems here are exuberant and rapturous. Even when he's lambasting the sanctimonious, there is a vehemence and wit that is delectable. He is at his best when he's plain-spoken. You can see the twinkle in his eye as you hear him recite his work to a crowd of ne'er-do-wells. There was a good cross-section of work in this selection too, lots of different poem structures and subject matter to represent. I will be reading much more Burns in the future.
July 31, 2013
Burns is the great Scottish poet. His work can be difficult for Americans because it is written in Scots, which is very close to English but has several different words and its own idiosyncratic spelling. This particular edition does a good job of providing explanatory notes without slowing down the rhythm of the poetry.
As a poet, Burns is fascinated with the rural, the common, and the everyday, which often inspires him to think philosophically about humanity's place in the universe, our relationships to one another, and to God. Many of Burns' poems focus on distinctly Scottish themes--local lore, Scottish Presbyterianism, Scottish home life, and so on.
https://youtu.be/8DTbuvgY_QU
As a poet, Burns is fascinated with the rural, the common, and the everyday, which often inspires him to think philosophically about humanity's place in the universe, our relationships to one another, and to God. Many of Burns' poems focus on distinctly Scottish themes--local lore, Scottish Presbyterianism, Scottish home life, and so on.
https://youtu.be/8DTbuvgY_QU
November 5, 2009
My first comprehensive introduction to Burns' work and very satisfying. Covers all the "must-haves" (Auld Lang Syne, Tam O'Shanter, etc.), while not shying away from either his political nor his bawdy verse. The notes at the back are extremely useful and valuable, helping those of us not fluent in Scots to parse some of the more challenging lines, while adding depth and meaning to the poems. And of course the biography and timelines are invaluable as well - especially the history of Scotland to put Burns into perspective. Great stuff.
July 19, 2011
I first read this, cover to cover, about 10 years ago when I was looking for a Scottish poem to write a critical essay on when I was still at school.
Since then I have loved Burns' works, and everything Robert Burns. So when I went to visit family and discovered this in a box with lots of my other stuff in it I picked it up... and did a re-read (cover to cover).
I'm glad I took this book back from my visit with me as it's an absolute pleasure to dip in and out of.
Since then I have loved Burns' works, and everything Robert Burns. So when I went to visit family and discovered this in a box with lots of my other stuff in it I picked it up... and did a re-read (cover to cover).
I'm glad I took this book back from my visit with me as it's an absolute pleasure to dip in and out of.
March 18, 2016
Enchanting; real poetry with feet in the soil.
"Some rhyme a neebor's name to lash;
Some rhyme (vain thought!) for needfu' cash;
Some rhyme to court the country clash,
An' raise a din;
For me, an aim I never fash:
I rhyme for fun."
"Some rhyme a neebor's name to lash;
Some rhyme (vain thought!) for needfu' cash;
Some rhyme to court the country clash,
An' raise a din;
For me, an aim I never fash:
I rhyme for fun."
September 10, 2008
Well.... what do you expect?????
December 31, 2011
This is simply a matter of preference. I really enjoyed a couple of the poems, however, with the poetry being very musical, I find it hard to enjoy this poetry unless you have the correct accent.
October 30, 2026
This is my very first read for complete poetic anthology.. and for this specific one which documented on behalf of Robert burns and authored between 1786 and 1808 and this specific Penguin edition 1981 that came to me as second hand book in Oct 2026...
for it I tend to really believe that we never "me at least" choose books, but book have their own way to pick us, to pause my hand while crossing the dozens of other books in that endless huge stacks, and for the moment your eyes blink to that title, that cover... nothing of it very special but the book just picked you to read it, somehow it knows that it has something that would profoundly touch you and hit tenderly...
That what I keep experiencing for every book picks me and for this selected textual by Robert burns.. It took me like two weeks around, between late hours of yellow nights and some half hours of my metro trips to get the rhythm with the meaning for its original Scottish phonetic of the texts, as this edition demonstrates the turns to British English in the beginning pages, and I could catch up with it well.
However I got to stop at some touchable hallowed poetic texts like "A Brad's Epitaph", "Oh wert Thou in the Cauld Blast", and the one hits "My Nanie's Awa (away)"... calls:
and for some ignorant reason, very stranger and seemed like patterned and so meant to be at last of it all came "Ye Flowery Banks", and I want to font particularly this one, in English accent (saving Scottish rhythm) it says:
I'm pretty certain that I passed by this book tens of times when I got to the Bookshop for the entire last year "Dec24-july25" but at the time, what was in this last poem wasn't meant to be said to me, and that's the WHY, the very weird WHY but "sense still" it picked me this year and at this time, and so all the songs, books, articles, and all thoughtful inputs.. all just came after what has been previously presence and in (as sincere as much anguish) is currently absent but eternally remembered...
for it I tend to really believe that we never "me at least" choose books, but book have their own way to pick us, to pause my hand while crossing the dozens of other books in that endless huge stacks, and for the moment your eyes blink to that title, that cover... nothing of it very special but the book just picked you to read it, somehow it knows that it has something that would profoundly touch you and hit tenderly...
That what I keep experiencing for every book picks me and for this selected textual by Robert burns.. It took me like two weeks around, between late hours of yellow nights and some half hours of my metro trips to get the rhythm with the meaning for its original Scottish phonetic of the texts, as this edition demonstrates the turns to British English in the beginning pages, and I could catch up with it well.
However I got to stop at some touchable hallowed poetic texts like "A Brad's Epitaph", "Oh wert Thou in the Cauld Blast", and the one hits "My Nanie's Awa (away)"... calls:
The snowdrop and primrose decorate our woodlands,
And violets bathe in the dampness of the morning;
They cause pain to my sad heart, they blossom so sweetly,
They remind me of Nanie—and Nanie is away.
You lark that flies up from the dew of the lawn,
The shepherd to warn of the grey-breaking dawn,
And you mellow thrush that hails the falling night,
Stop for pity’s sake—my Nanie is away.
and for some ignorant reason, very stranger and seemed like patterned and so meant to be at last of it all came "Ye Flowery Banks", and I want to font particularly this one, in English accent (saving Scottish rhythm) it says:
Ye flowery banks of bonny Doon,
How can ye bloom so fair?
How can ye chant, ye little birds,
And I so full of care!
Thou'lt break my heart, thou bonny bird
That sings upon the bough;
Thou minds me of the happy days
When my false love was true.
Thou'lt break my heart, thou bonny bird
That sings beside thy mate;
For so I sat, and so I sang,
And wist not of my fate.
Oft have I roamed by bonny Doon,
To see the woodbine twine,
And every bird sang of its love,
And so did I of mine.
With lightsome heart I pulled a rose
From off its thorny tree,
And my false lover stole the rose,
But left the thorn with me.
I'm pretty certain that I passed by this book tens of times when I got to the Bookshop for the entire last year "Dec24-july25" but at the time, what was in this last poem wasn't meant to be said to me, and that's the WHY, the very weird WHY but "sense still" it picked me this year and at this time, and so all the songs, books, articles, and all thoughtful inputs.. all just came after what has been previously presence and in (as sincere as much anguish) is currently absent but eternally remembered...
《dedicated to my one absent, who's in my thoughts always the only present》
June 8, 2022
Robert Burns: Selected Poems edited by Carol McGuirk (Penguin Classics 1993) (811) (3647).
I am a proud descendant of Scots heritage. When I first tried to grow a beard at the age of eighteen, I was surprised to find that it grew in rusty-red and bushy. My friends hooted and said that I looked like a six-foot-five-inch leprechaun.
I was later to find that I felt as much at home in Edinburg, Scotland as I did back home in the mountains of Tennessee - which is full of my fellow Scots-Irish folk. (A confession: I can eat, but I do not relish, haggis, though I have a six-foot-six-inch-tall red-bearded son who will gobble his portion and clean everyone else’s plates as well. (Burp!)).
As a son of Scotland, I settled in with Robert Burns: Selected Poems to see why his work is so highly revered. Now I know.
Burns evokes the warmth of the hearth and the smell of a peat fire. One can almost breathe in the smoky wet wool worn in the Highlands. Burns’ words call to mind the taste of ice-cold stream water and the fiery afterburn of single-malt whiskey.
Small wonder that Burns is so beloved. I was ready to swing a mug of ale and join in singing these rhymes around the glow of the fireplace.
This volume is a fine introduction to Burns’ work. The editor has included roughly a hundred of the more than six hundred poems and songs that Burns set to paper. Burns often wrote in dialect, but his choice of language is much more accessible and easier to parse than the vocabulary one finds in Shakespeare’s plays.
I have finished the book, so this seems like a good time for a toast.
I’ll meet you at the pub.
My rating: 7/10, finished 6/8/22 (3647).
April 7, 2023
Excellent collection of poems and songs by Robert Burns along with biographical information. His best known poems are here, supplemented by copious notes by editor Carol McGuirk on their composition, publication, and connection to Burns personal and political life. The glossary of Scots words is extremely helpful and I found myself frequently using it. Burns' subjects range from nature, commentaries on daily life, politics, and history, letters in verse to friends, and of course his many love poems. I cannot praise this collection enough.
A lot of these poems have been set to music and recorded many times; in my mind I often could hear Dougie MacLean, Mairi Campbell, or Emily Smith singing as I read classics like “Scots Wha Hae,” “Auld Lang Syne,” or “It Was Upon a Lammas Night".
My favorites in this collection:
“It Was Upon a Lammas Night (Corn Rigs)”; “John Barleycorn. A Ballad”; “Green Grow the Rashes. A Fragment”; “The Holy Fair”; “To a Mouse”; “The Twa Dogs. A Tale”; “Scotch Drink”; “Address to the Deil”; “Lines Written on a Bank-Note”; “Elegy on the Death of Robert Ruisseaux”; “Auld Lang Syne”; “Lassie Lie Near Me”; “Farewell to the Highlands (My Heart’s in the Highlands):”; “Tam o’Shanter. A Tale”; “Ae Fond Kiss”; “O, Whistle an’ I’ll Come to Yet, My Lad”; “Scots Wha Hae”; “A Red, Red Rose”; “Is There for Honest Poverty (A Man’s a Man for a’ That)”; “I Murder Hate”; “It Was a’ for Our Rightfu’ King”.
A lot of these poems have been set to music and recorded many times; in my mind I often could hear Dougie MacLean, Mairi Campbell, or Emily Smith singing as I read classics like “Scots Wha Hae,” “Auld Lang Syne,” or “It Was Upon a Lammas Night".
My favorites in this collection:
“It Was Upon a Lammas Night (Corn Rigs)”; “John Barleycorn. A Ballad”; “Green Grow the Rashes. A Fragment”; “The Holy Fair”; “To a Mouse”; “The Twa Dogs. A Tale”; “Scotch Drink”; “Address to the Deil”; “Lines Written on a Bank-Note”; “Elegy on the Death of Robert Ruisseaux”; “Auld Lang Syne”; “Lassie Lie Near Me”; “Farewell to the Highlands (My Heart’s in the Highlands):”; “Tam o’Shanter. A Tale”; “Ae Fond Kiss”; “O, Whistle an’ I’ll Come to Yet, My Lad”; “Scots Wha Hae”; “A Red, Red Rose”; “Is There for Honest Poverty (A Man’s a Man for a’ That)”; “I Murder Hate”; “It Was a’ for Our Rightfu’ King”.
November 24, 2019
DNF... Kinda.
It feels like a bit of a betrayal to my heritage to say this, but during my attempts to read this book I have honestly felt like Burns's works are nigh unintelligible at times. Don't get me wrong, most of his poems have a nice enough rhythm and there are a few I legitimately enjoy (I love Tam o' Shanter - it's been a favourite of mine since primary school). But - and I'm sure I've said this before - the Scottish vernacular was simply not made to be written; particularly not Burns's archaic brand of it.
Which is why I bought an audiobook collection of his poems to enjoy instead. Burns's poetry is much easier to understand (and therefore much more enjoyable) when listened to as opposed to read the way you might read a novel. The way a lot of the slang is spelled doesn't really lend itself to intuitive interpretation, which inevitably disrupts the flow. Listening to someone who clearly knows all the pronunciation quirks on the other hand is a much more fulfilling experience.
It feels like a bit of a betrayal to my heritage to say this, but during my attempts to read this book I have honestly felt like Burns's works are nigh unintelligible at times. Don't get me wrong, most of his poems have a nice enough rhythm and there are a few I legitimately enjoy (I love Tam o' Shanter - it's been a favourite of mine since primary school). But - and I'm sure I've said this before - the Scottish vernacular was simply not made to be written; particularly not Burns's archaic brand of it.
Which is why I bought an audiobook collection of his poems to enjoy instead. Burns's poetry is much easier to understand (and therefore much more enjoyable) when listened to as opposed to read the way you might read a novel. The way a lot of the slang is spelled doesn't really lend itself to intuitive interpretation, which inevitably disrupts the flow. Listening to someone who clearly knows all the pronunciation quirks on the other hand is a much more fulfilling experience.
June 25, 2026
"Selected Poems" by Robert Burns is a fascinating collection of short poems based on the themes of love, village life, mortality and national heritage. Unlike traditional reason-based poetry, preceding the romantic age, Burns' emphasis on aspects of imagination, emotion, individualism in his poems - serves as the best template to explore the deeper dilemma surrounding the livelihood of a common man and his immediate environment. Written in a whimsical tone with the expansive use of the Scottish dialect - poems in this collection include various odes, epistles, songs and ballads, exploring the late 18th century English society and it's cultural nuances. Poems like 'A Bard's Epitaph', 'A Red, Red Rose', 'Auld Lang Syne', 'Scots Wha Hae' are some of the best poems included in this collection - which depict the contrasting notions of 'life' and 'death' with wit and generosity.
Overall, a good read for poetry lovers and enthusiasts of English literature written during the Romantic Age.
Overall, a good read for poetry lovers and enthusiasts of English literature written during the Romantic Age.
April 10, 2019
(1947 edition) I started this on Burns' Night, reading a few poems per day. This took me until April as Burns wrote so many poems and songs. The short biography at the beginning is very welcome and seems witty enough to have been written by Burns himself. The bulk of this edition is occupied with the poems which are often in such a thick 18thC Scottish dialect, the meaning behind is all but obscured to me, but despite this they still manage to display a charm and wit, a succinct turn of phrase, humour or, when I can (mostly) understand the gist, a kind and noble thought. The songs are somewhat less appealing without the accompanying music. Burns' odes to various pets, friends, his views on life, girlfriends and especially his 'everyman' touch is very endearing. I've not read many other poets, but somehow I feel like I'd get along with him more than most. 4.25/5
September 23, 2025
I have no doubt but that Robert Burns is an exceptional poet, and deserves his place of honor among the bards of Caledonia. But I was unfortunately unable to discern this fact for myself, as the supposedly "light Scottish brogue" in which much of Burns' poetry was written was completely indecipherable to me. As far as my brain is aware, I just read 187 pages of pure nonsense. I was on the cusp of hiring a Scotsman to translate for me. Perhaps one day I'll sit down with a Scottish-to-English dictionary (or said Scotsman) and puzzle my way through some of Burns' more famous works, but for now, all I can say is that this is not my favorite poetry compilation. Think I'll stick with Whitman and Wordsworth for the time being.
December 6, 2021
i had high hopes for this…
but i’m guessing it’s the typical kind of book you read in/for school. and not being in the english speaking school system i don’t get any english lit classes (well i do, but unconventional, anyway complicated, not here to vent about my life) and therefore no opportunity of studying these works. i’m sure they are much more interesting read in a scholar environment, with time to decrypt every one of them, rather than on my bed at 2 o’clock in the morning with nothing else keeping me going than my chronic insomnia.
but i’m guessing it’s the typical kind of book you read in/for school. and not being in the english speaking school system i don’t get any english lit classes (well i do, but unconventional, anyway complicated, not here to vent about my life) and therefore no opportunity of studying these works. i’m sure they are much more interesting read in a scholar environment, with time to decrypt every one of them, rather than on my bed at 2 o’clock in the morning with nothing else keeping me going than my chronic insomnia.
March 7, 2018
Good collection of Robert Burns poems
I always been the guy who reads just about anything. The poems in this book show a wide range of topics and forms. You can understand Robert Burns poetry with this book. There's a dictionary of Scottish dialect in the back of the book and another section giving the background to the discussion of most of the poems. Anyone would enjoy it. Especially if you like his work and poems.
I always been the guy who reads just about anything. The poems in this book show a wide range of topics and forms. You can understand Robert Burns poetry with this book. There's a dictionary of Scottish dialect in the back of the book and another section giving the background to the discussion of most of the poems. Anyone would enjoy it. Especially if you like his work and poems.
Read
March 24, 2024“An honest man here lies at rest,
As e’er God with his image blest;
The friend of man, the friend of truth,
The friend of age, and guide of youth;
Few hearts like his with virtue warm’d,
Few heads with knowledge so inform’d;
If there’s another world, he lives in bliss,
If there is none, he made the best of this.”
Epitaph on My Own Friend, and My Father’s Friend,
William Muir of Tarbolton Mill, p.14
As e’er God with his image blest;
The friend of man, the friend of truth,
The friend of age, and guide of youth;
Few hearts like his with virtue warm’d,
Few heads with knowledge so inform’d;
If there’s another world, he lives in bliss,
If there is none, he made the best of this.”
Epitaph on My Own Friend, and My Father’s Friend,
William Muir of Tarbolton Mill, p.14
Read
January 30, 2026didn't want to put a star rating on this because while I didn't enjoy most of the poems, that is almost entirely because I don't find old-timey Scottish prose very intuitive. I did tend to find the more naturalistic ones a bit more evocative than the more peopley ones
my faves were:
to a mouse in turning her up in her nest with the plough
epistle to Davie
on seeing a wounded hare limp by me
my love is like a red red rose
my faves were:
to a mouse in turning her up in her nest with the plough
epistle to Davie
on seeing a wounded hare limp by me
my love is like a red red rose
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