The Influence of the Common Scotish Life on Robert Burns

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Robert Burns was an influential Scottish writer who connected with the people of Scotland. The four main things that influenced his poetry and songs were: his family which includes school, his farming work, the church as an institution and the common Scottish person’s life. This paper will show how these four things influenced his life and writing. For this writer, personally the influences on Robert Burns are interesting since he is my several times great-grandfather. Both my maternal grandfather`s family and my maternal grandmother`s family are from Ayrshire, Scotland, in the lowlands-the place where Burns was born and grew up.
Robert Burns (often called Robbie or Rabbie in Scotland) was “born on January 25, 1759 in Alloway, Ayrshire he was the oldest son of seven children” (The Calgary Burns Club) In order to make a living the Burns family had to become farmers in order to bring in a larger salary to keep afloat. Back in that day and time the whole family had to work together to bring in wages. Robert Burns was the oldest of the family and so he had to work by his father’s side. Most of his poems were about the natural world, and was influenced heavily by the outdoor work. Henry Mackenzie described Burns as a “Heaven-taught ploughman.” (BBC News) But we must not forget that he was a working farmer for most of his life and he acquired his book learning through sheer determination in the midst of arduous physical toil.” (The Influences of Robert Burns) The Burns family struggled financially, however Robert Burns sill obtained an education in a time when not everyone was able to go to school and many common people could not even read or write. He joined John Murdoch grammar school at the age of six, and through his ...

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Works Cited
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“Hecht, Page 225 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agnes_Broun#cite_note-13”
"Holy Willie's Prayer." - a Poem by Robert Burns. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
"The Influences of Robert Burns." The Life Of Robert Burns. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2014.
O’Hagan Andrew. “Robert Burns - The Peoples Poet.” Four. BBC. England. 25 Jan. 2009. Broadcast.
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"Robert Burns." : The Poetry Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Feb. 2014.

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