Poet Burns began his life as an impoverished granger and was able to pour his cerebral energies into poetry and song to become one of Scotland's most famous cultural figures. He is most known as a Romantic movement pioneer for his lyrical poetry and revisions of Scottish folk melodies, many of which are still popular today. Since his death on January 21, 1796, on the Gregorian calendar, his work has inspired numerous Western philosophers
Early Life
Robert Burns, the oldest son of tenant farmers William Burns and Agnes Brown, was born on January 25, 1759, in Scotland. Robert's parents pushed him to study works by prominent contemporary writers as well as Shakespeare and Milton once he had received a basic education.
Burns has found farm work to be physically hard and destructive to his health since he was a child. He relieved his boredom by composing. His father died, worn out and destitute, in 1784, it only served to reinforce Burns' skepticism of the ecclesiastical and governmental establishments that upheld Scotland's strict class structure
The Life of a Lover and Writer
Burns had many illegitimate offspring from multiple unlawful partnerships from 1784 through 1788. In 1785, he fathered his first child, Elizabeth, out of wedlock to his mother's servant, Elizabeth, while pursuing Jean Amour. When Jean became pregnant, her father prevented the two from marrying, and Jean complied, at least temporarily. Burns, enraged by Jean's rejection, began courting Mary Campbell and pondered fleeing to the Caribbean with her. However, Mary died unexpectedly, throwing his preparations into disarray. In the middle of his home turmoil, Burns released Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, in July 1786. The work was lauded by critics, and it appealed to people from all walks of life in Scotland. With his newfound triumph, Burns chose to stay in Scotland, and that November, he headed out for Edinburgh to revel in the glory.
Achievement and Sudden Fame
Burns made numerous close friends in Edinburgh, notably Agnes "Nancy" MacLeish, with whom he wrote impassioned letters but was unable to marry. Frustrated, he began seducing Jenny Claw, her maid, who bore him a son. When it came to business, Burns befriended James Johnson, a young music publisher who approached him for assistance. The Scots Musical Museum, a collection of Scottish traditional music, was born as a consequence. Tired of the city, Burns moved to Ellis land in the summer of 1788 and married Jean Armor. Only three of the couple's nine children survived infancy.
However, in 1791, Burns gave up farming for good and relocated his family to the adjacent town of Scotland There, he took a job as an excise officer (basically a tax collector) and continued to create and collect traditional Scottish tunes. That same year, he released "Tam O'Scanter," a semi-autobiographical story about a farmer that is today regarded as a classic of narrative poetry. He then contributed to George Thomson's A Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs for the Voice in 1793. This book and The Scots Musical Museum contain the majority of Burns' poems and folk songs, including "A Red, Red Rose," and "The Battle of Sheriff-Muir"
Death
On July 21, 1796, he died at the age of 37 in Scotland. The reason for his death is unknown, however, alcohol consumption
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