Robert Burns, affectionately known as ‘Rabbie’ Burns, rose from humble beginnings as a tenant farmer’s son to become Scotland’s national poet and a cultural icon celebrated across the world. His prolific career as a poet and lyricist, despite his short life of just thirty-seven years, left an indelible mark on Scottish literature and culture.
Almost two hundred and thirty years after his death, Robert Burns remains as well-loved today as he was then, and Burns Night, celebrated annually on 25 January, is as famous a date in the Scottish calendar as Christmas Day or St. Andrew’s Day. Perhaps even more so!
But who was Robert Burns? Why is he so well-loved, and what happens on Burn’s Night?
The Early Life of Robert Burns
Burns' birthplace in Alloway (Credit: jgshields via Getty Images)
Born on 25 January 1759 in the town of Alloway on Scotland’s west coast, Robert Burns was the eldest of seven children. From a young age he became interested in literature and was exposed to Scottish folk traditions, history, and the natural landscape, which deeply influenced his writing.
Despite the financial hardship of rural poverty and limited formal education, Burns’ father, a tenant farmer, ensured his son received an education – what would be called home-schooling today – which fostered a love for reading and learning. This foundation, combined with his keen observations of human nature and rural life – gained through his childhood toiling in the fields alongside his father – went on to shape Burns into a poet who could eloquently express the honest and authentic voice of the people.
Robert Burns The Poet
An illustration of the witches dance from Tam o' Shanter (Credit: THEPALMER via Getty Images)
Robert Burns was a remarkable literary talent whose work beautifully combined the vernacular language of rural Scotland with timeless poetic themes of love, nature, politics, equality, and social commentary. His first major work, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, was published in 1786 and garnered critical acclaim. It contained some of his best-known works, including To a Mouse, Halloween, and The Cotter’s Saturday Night.
Critics praised his vivid portrayals of rural life, his astute observations on human nature, and his heartfelt celebration of Scottish identity, all of which resonated with readers across class boundaries. It instantly catapulted the young poet to national prominence.
Among his best-known poems are Tam o’ Shanter, a lively, supernatural tale of a man who disturbs a coven of witches and has to escape on an old horse called Meg, and Auld Lang Syne, now beloved worldwide for its nostalgic celebration of friendship.
Auld Lang Syne was, in fact, an older Scottish folk song – perhaps written as early as the late 1500s or early 1600s – that Burns reworked and popularised in the late 1780s. Burns himself acknowledged this when he sent the poem to the Scots Musical Museum in 1788, describing it as “an old song, of the olden times, and which has never been in print, nor even in manuscript until I took it down from an old man.”
While his work differs in subject matter and tone, they all share Burns’s signature empathy for others and a lively command of language.
Robert Burns The Man
A memorial to Robert Burns in Central Park, New York (Credit: John Turp via Getty Images)
Burns the man was as vivacious as his poetry! He was known to be charming, high-spirited, and quick witted, and his friends and acquaintances spoke of his warmth and intellect which shone through in social gatherings.
While a keen social observer, often challenging norms, his somewhat hedonistic lifestyle also added to his fame, contributing to his reputation as a man who lived life to the fullest.
Burns had married Jean Armour in 1788 and they had nine children together. Tragically, only three survived into adulthood: Robert Burns Junior, William Nicol Burns, and James Glencairn Burns. Yet it’s also believed Burns fathered several other children by a number of different mothers, adding to his somewhat unorthodox reputation.
His final years were spent in Dumfries, and due to failing health, possibly rheumatic fever, Burns died, aged just 37, on the morning of July 21, 1796. His funeral was held four days later and he’s interred in a white mausoleum at the eastern end of St. Michael’s Church in Dumfries.
What is Burn’s Night?
Haggis, neeps and tatties, the famous Burns Night supper (Credit: Joff Lee via Getty Images)
Burns Night is an annual celebration held on January 25, Burns’ birthday, to honour the life and legacy of one of the greatest Scots of all time. It has become a vibrant cultural – and global – event that celebrates Scottish heritage and traditions. On this most auspicious of evenings, people across Scotland and around the world gather for Burns Suppers, which often include traditional Scottish fare – most famously, haggis, neeps (turnips) and tatties (potatoes), accompanied by the recitation of Burns’s poetry, toasts with whisky, traditional bagpipe music, and plenty of laughter.
One of the most cherished traditions of Burns Night is the recitation of Burns’ Address to the Haggis. The haggis is carried into the dining room on an ornate silver platter and, accompanied by a piper, the address is read aloud.
There is some dispute as to when the first Burns Supper was held. The Mother Club in Greenock claim theirs was the first, but the most popular version of the story dates back to July 1801 when a group of his friends got together at his birthplace, what is now called Burns Cottage in Alloway, near Ayr, to commemorate the fifth anniversary of his death.
A year later, the date was shifted to what the group thought was his birthday – 29 January – but realising their mistake, the date was moved back four days in 1803 and from then, Burns Night has been celebrated on 25 January! And it always ends with a rousing rendition of Auld Lang Syne.
