Résumé de Poèmes et chansons de Robert Burns

À qui s’adresse-t-il ?

You will love this book if you enjoy verse that sings, humour with a bite, country scenes and folk songs, or the voice of a farmer-poet who writes about love, friendship, drink and faith.

De quoi parle ce livre ?

A ploughman turns his blade through a field in November and uncovers a mouse's nest. He stops, looks at the frightened creature, and writes a poem that readers still carry in their heads.

Robert Burns was born in 1759 near Ayr, the son of a poor farmer. He wrote while he worked the land, and his Kilmarnock volume of 1786 made him the poet of Edinburgh. He died in 1796, at thirty-seven. This collection gathers his satires, his tender poems, his comic pieces and the songs that ordinary people still sing.

Questions about Poèmes et chansons de Robert Burns

What is Poems and Songs of Robert Burns about?

It gathers the verse of the Scottish farmer-poet Robert Burns, including satires on strict churchmen, poems about animals and country homes, comic tales, epistles to friends, and love songs written for old Scottish tunes.

Is the Scots language hard to read in these poems?

Many poems carry Scots words that become clear with the rhythm, and the chorus lines invite a listener to join in. Reading aloud helps, since the sound of the Scots words, the choruses and the named tunes guide you through each line.

Who wrote Auld Lang Syne and what does it mean?

Burns reworked it from older material. It asks whether old friends should be forgotten, and it answers with a toast to shared memories, such as childhood days on the hills and by the stream.

What is the main message of Burns's poetry?

Burns holds that a person's worth lies in honesty and a kind heart, not in rank or money. He mocks pride and hypocrisy, shows sympathy for the poor and for weak creatures, and values friendship, love and home.