ROBERT BURNS
(1759-1796)

"An extraordinary man" or - "an excellent poet of Scotland", - so called Walter Scott Robert Burns, a poor peasant who became an outstanding artist of the word.

His country was a state of heroic and catastrophic fate: in 1707, after many years of hard struggle, it was united with England, which felt it strong impact. Due to the rapid growth of bourgeois relations, fencing and industrial revolution the most ancient clan traditions began to disappear, the general impoverishment of free grain growers and small artisans came out. Two uprisings against the British (1715 and 1745) were ruthlessly suppressed and led to an even greater increase in oppression, taxation and bureaucratic pressure on the poor. Such was the socio-political situation in which the work of Burns developed. From an early age, a heightened sense of national pride in Scotland's past and a bitter sense of the tragedy of its present position were intertwined in his mind.

As a person and as a poet, Burns was formed under the influence of 2 state crops- Scottish and British. Their interaction has developed for a long time, but after the union, British was recognized as the national language, and Scottish was reduced to the level of a dialect. The ruling classes of Great Britain tried to plant their own culture, which could not but give rise in the defeated, but not broken people, of an irresistible desire to preserve national traditions, to preserve their native language. Working in these conditions, Robert Burns was able to rise above both the slavish inclination to British literature and state narrowness, was able to cooperate in his own poetry all the best of both literary traditions, in his own way comprehending and synthesizing them.

Robert Burns was born into a farmer's family. His short life was spent in a continuous struggle with poverty, in languid labor on farms, the rent of which was profitable only for landowners.

Collisions with stingy and rude owners, with preachers of Calvinist communities and ordinary people in the small villages of southwestern Scotland, where the poet spent his childhood and youth, early introduced him to inequality and the infringement of the poor. A man of independent mind and a proud soul, he deeply sympathized with people like himself, disenfranchised workers.

His education was limited to the lessons of his father, who knew how to read and write, reading a small library that was painstakingly kept. The craving of a young man for knowledge was seen and developed by a timid rural teacher, a friend of his father. secured spiritual world poet, his extraordinary skill - all this is obtained by the method of continuous and stubborn self-education.

Burns' poetic talent awakened early. The first verse about bright youthful love (“Extraordinary Nellie”) was written at the age of fifteen. Others followed him. they were adored, remembered by Burns' friends - rural youth, local intellectuals. By subscription of these admirers in a provincial town in 1786, for the first time, a small book of his poems (“Kilmarnock volume”) was placed for the first time. None of the Edinburgh editions of a larger book of poems and lyrics (The Edinburgh Volume, 1787), not even the fashion for the poet-plowman in the salons of Edinburgh, changed the role of Burns. He lived in this town for about 2 years, visited the highest circles, where he aroused only indulgent curiosity and conversation, but continued to live in poverty, in anxiety for his relatives, without conviction in the next day. In Stans for Nothing, he boldly called the nonentities of those with whom he had to meet in Edinburgh, who were phlegmatic to the poet, to the failures of the workers.

In the early poetic attempts of Burns, traces of acquaintance with the work of Pope, Johnson and other representatives of Enlightenment classicism are clearly visible. Later in the poetry of Burns one can find a roll call with many English and Scottish poets. He never followed traditions one hundred percent, he rethought them and created his own. Burns had the same attitude towards the folklore of the basis of his poetry. This is expressed in a deep awareness of the essence folk art and his perception of the advanced thoughts of the century. In the folk song, the author's personality disappeared, and Burns connected the voice of the people with the poetic "I". The main themes of his poetry were love and friendship, man and nature.

Along with this, Burns early comprehended in his own poems and poems the collision of the individual and the people with public evil, although, of course, the opposition of Burns's intimate and social lyrics is completely arbitrary. Already early lyrics are poems about the rights of young people to happiness, about their collision with the despotism of religion and the family. Love in Burns is always a force that helps a person to defend a loved one, to protect her and himself from dangerous opponents. The poet often personally encountered the hypocrisy of churchmen. He rejects and ridicules him in "Greetings to his own illegitimate daughter" (1785). In the poems of Burns, religious awareness of the essence of human existence was often rejected. In "Funeral Song" he argues with the apology of death as "the very close friend the poor" on the way to the "afterlife grace". The same theme, in a brilliant combination of satire and humor, is revealed in the poem "Death and Dr. Harnbuk", which parodies both its poeticization and the greed of doctors who profit from death. An extremely close to reality portrait of an informer and a libertine in the "Prayer of the Holy Willy" and "Epitaph" to him, where the real fact became the reason for the brave exposure of the sanctimonious doctrine of Calvinism. The stupidity of the priest and his flock is ridiculed in the satire "Taurus". Burns was not an atheist, but his deism was similar to the atheistic rejection of the role of God in the life of man and nature.

Not in God, in nature, in life, in the fight against troubles, Burns and his heroes became courageous and ordinary people. Not heavenly forces, and personal dignity, love, the help of friends supported them.

Berne early began to think about the causes of public inequality. At first, in his own poems, he was ready to lay the blame for all the hardships of the poor and his own forces universes - "heavenly and devilish". But at the time of maturity, he concluded that it was not fate, but the real laws and orders of society that determine the role of people. In 1785, the cantata The Joyful Beggars was written. her characters are vagabonds: a cripple soldier, a poor lady, itinerant actors and artisans. Everyone in the past grief, tests, conflicts with the law, and now - persecution, poverty. But they remained human. Thirst for life, the ability to have fun, make friends and adore, sharp sarcastic speech, courage and fortitude - oh, so the poet portrayed in a dynamic group portrait of disadvantaged fellow countrymen, close in color to the table scenes in the painters of the Flemish school. At a joyful nighttime amusement in the brothel of vicious Pussy Nancy, the poet supports the poor. His song, rebellious and haughty, is the end of the cantata:

To hell with those whom the laws protect from the people! Prisons are a defense for cowards, Churches are a haven for hypocrisy.

The text of this cantata was published only after the death of the writer.
The life and destinies of his contemporaries immediately entered the poetic world of Burns with a lyrical “I”: relatives, friends, neighbors, those whom he met at one moment, he remembered forever. He is not indifferent to people. He loves some, is friends with them, he cannot stand others; he calls many by name, and these names are lives and personalities, and the reader remembers them forever. Such are the greedy Maggie from the mill, the assertive and charming boyfriend Findlay, the proud Tibby, the joyful Willy the bastard, the poet's friend John Anderson. And in the midst of them, Berne himself is joyful and courageous, affectionate and passionate in love, faithful in friendship. He shares happy and difficult moments with the reader.

Already the early poems of Burns were full of the deepest thoughts about the life of people, about themselves and others, just like him. Together with songs of love, parting, sadness, songs written for popular folk motives, there were such poetic discoveries as “A field mouse, whose nest I destroyed with a plow”, “There was a conscientious peasant my father”, “Friendship of past years” and many satirical works.

Walter Scott defended Burns from accusations of "rudeness", "ill manners", with jewelry accuracy assessed the nature of his talent, which combined lyrics and satire. He fairly correctly determined the civilian position of the poet: “The feeling own pros, way of thinking, and specifically Burns's indignation were plebeian, however, such that a plebeian with a proud soul, an Athenian or Roman citizen has.

The second half of the 80s was full of excitement for the poet and his contemporaries in connection with the revolution in North America, pre-revolutionary crisis in France, political indignation in Britain. To them were added personal obstacles and changes in the life of the poet. He fell in love with the daughter of a wealthy farmer Jean Armor, but did not see her for about 3 years. The death of his father, financial and family disagreements forced him to seriously consider leaving for Jamaica. But he did not seek to make his poetry a source of income.

Burns did not go, but was obliged to accept the position of excise bureaucrat offered to him, and to the end own days he bore the yoke of this boring and poorly paid position. The administration strictly controlled the freethinker poet, who "does not need" to be interested in politics.

A huge role in the work of Burns was played by love for working people. His standard of man appeared in the comprehension folk history and many years of experience of the labor ranks, their current position. The poet's love belongs to conscientious and good workers, fighters for truth and humanity. Together with this, he rejects the conservative-nationalist illusions that are widespread among the Scottish people. This was reflected in the poetic assessment of the fates and personalities of the Scottish rulers, from Mary Stuart to the pretender prince. Moving forward and only forward he asserted as the law of being.
The struggle of the new with the old in Burns is dramatic, capable of leading to unexpected accidents and tragedies, everything that stands in the way of the future must be destroyed. Such subtext of "The Song of Doom" (1792), "The Tree of Liberty" (1793) and other poems that were written during the years of the Great french revolution. Even earlier, the poet was for the South American revolution. He took it as a blow to the English monarchy. But actions in France were closer to him. Burns met with ecstasy the fall of the Bastille, the tribunal and the verdict of the Convention on the Bourbons, was carried away by the struggle of the Republic against the army of the anti-French coalition. The poem "The Tree of Liberty" deeply generalized this poet's confidence in the rightness, in the all-European significance of the experience of France, especially of principle for Great Britain. The assessment in this verse of the British revolution of the 17th century again confirms the insight and sharpness of the poet's historical views. But the text of this poem was posted only in 1838, and then he did not go to all editions of his poems. Burns' comments on the revolution in France are not only evidence of his sympathy for it, but also the program of the struggle for the coveted Freedom and Justice, for the real greatness of man, not subject to crowns and money.

The British reaction of those years and later in particular could not stand his accusatory satires and epigrams. Many of them were oriented against the war. "Wars are plague epidemics, in which not nature is to blame, but people." He directly stated that wars are necessary for monarchs, parliamentarians, traders: war blesses the church; she is expected, and with her new ranks, generals. Their income and fame are paid for at the cost of thousands of human lives ("Gratitude for the National Victory"). Only a war for the freedom of the people is justified.

Political satires and epigrams of Burns naturally had a clear address and asserted the principles of plebeian-democratic statehood and morality. One of the main targets of exposure for Burns is the noble-bourgeois parliamentary system in the Anglo-Scottish version.
Oh royal couple - George III and his wife, their heir, Burns spoke with contemptuous drama in the "Tavern Ballad", in the satirical poem "Dream" - a sarcastic greeting of the king on his birthday, and in other poems. The crowned heads of Great Britain are worthless puppets in the hands of those who profit from money speculation and start wars. An alliance of corrupt politicians with merchants and the church, pre-election speculations are revealed by Burns in the satires "The Gallery of Politicians and Saints", "The Ballad of the Election of Mr. Waron" and others. These poetic political feuilletons open up the existing system of criminal deception of the people. Among the late satires full of anger and pain, the “Message of Beelzebub” (1790) stands out in particular.

In the rich development of Burns's social experience and his revolutionary plebeian worldview, new abilities and facets were revealed. The innovative direction of his own time - sentimentalism - Burns subjected to a critical assessment, discarded in it what he called "mannership" (mucilaginous responsiveness, passivity, religious illusions of creators and heroes). In pre-romanticism, he did not accept the poetization of despair and the nightmare of life. central theme before the romantics - the omnipotence of the demon, evil in the world - resolved by Burns without mysticism, in a materialistic sense, includes political assessment the real forces of the era. The sharp common sense, salty folk humor of the poet destroyed the pre-romantic poeticization of meetings with " evil spirit". Not a bad parody of the pre-romantic "diaboliad" is Burns' funny poem "Tom O'Shanter".

Burns's poetry is in the Scottish dialect; many of them are based on folk songs and have themselves become the songs that Scotland sings to this day. Renewal and democratization of the theme, language, artistic means went into it in unity with perestroika classical system lyrical genres, its enrichment. Strange energy, sharpness and wealth of judgments, many rhythms and intonations, breathtaking elasticity and colorfulness of the folk language - these are the corresponding features best poetry Burns brought him worldwide fame

Robert Burns is a popular Scottish poet and folklorist. During his prolific career, he wrote many poems and poems in English and Scots. His birthday - January 25 is still celebrated as National holiday throughout Scotland.

National holiday

Robert Burns is a truly unique poet. In few countries there is a writer whose birthday has been celebrated according to a pre-established procedure for more than two centuries.

January 25 is a real national holiday in Scotland, which is remembered by all its inhabitants. On this day, it is customary to lay a rich table made up of dishes that the poet sang in his works. First of all, it is a hearty pudding called haggis. It is prepared from lamb giblets (liver, heart and lungs), mixed with bacon, onions, salt and all kinds of seasonings, and then boiled in a lamb stomach.

According to ancient tradition, it is customary to bring these dishes into the room under the Scottish bagpipes, and before embarking on a feast, one should read the poems of Burns himself. For example, "Zazdravny toast", known in Russia in the translation of Samuil Marshak, or "Ode to the Scottish pudding Haggis". On this day, the name day of the poet is celebrated by admirers of his work around the world.

Childhood and youth

Robert Burns was born in 1759. He was born in a small Scottish village called Alloway, which is located just three kilometers from the city of Ayr in Ayrshire. His father was a farmer named William.

In 1760, William Burns rented a farm, from an early age introducing Robert himself and his brother to the difficult physical labor. Almost all the dirty and hard work they did on their own. At that time, the family did not live well, there were always problems with money, at times there was even nothing to eat. Due to the fact that Robert Burns often starved in childhood, this negatively affected his health in the future. He constantly experienced health problems.

In between work, Robert Burns literally voraciously read all the books in a row. Literally everything that came across to his hand in his small village.

As a rule, these were inexpensive brochures with a simple plot and content. But it was thanks to them, as well as the knowledge that his mother and servants passed on to him, that the hero of our article got acquainted with traditional Scottish folklore. In the future, he became important part his life, was reflected in most of the books of Robert Burns. He wrote his first poems in 1774.

moving

An important new stage in the biography of Robert Burns is the move to a farm called Lochley, which took place in 1777, when he was 18 years old.

Here he found many like-minded people who, like Burns himself, were interested in literature, Scottish history and folklore. As a result, he becomes the organizer of the Bachelors Club.

In 1781, Robert Burns falls under the influence of Freemasons. This fact imposes a serious influence on all his subsequent works, and on the very creative manner.

Popularity

The hero of our article becomes popular in his homeland in Scotland after the publication of two satirical poems called "The Two Shepherds" and "The Prayer of Holy Willy." These books by Robert Burns appear in 1784 and 1785 respectively.

But what really makes him famous as a writer is "Poems written predominantly in the Scottish dialect." This collection was published in 1786.

The next year he comes to Edinburgh, where he quickly becomes a welcome guest in high society. The poems of Robert Burns are valued in aristocratic circles, so he immediately has influential patrons. The hero of our article himself soon becomes the owner of the unofficial status of the "bard of Caledonia". His name is given by the Grand Masonic Lodge.

Since 1783, Burns has been writing many of his works in the Ayshire dialect. And in 1784 his father died. The hero of our article, together with his brother, are trying to manage the household together, are engaged in farm affairs, but after several failed attempts leave her.

By this period of creativity, which can be called initial, such famous poems by Robert Burns as "John Barleycorn", "Holy Fair", "Prayer of Holy Willie" come out. His fame is spreading throughout the country.

It is interesting how the German poet Johann Wolfgang Goethe assessed his popularity. Goethe emphasized that the greatness of Burns lies in the fact that his old ancestors native people always lived in the mouths of all his kindred. It was in them that he found a living basis, relying on which he was able to advance so far. In addition, his own songs immediately found fertile ears among his own people, as they often sounded from the lips of sheaf knitters and reapers walking towards him.

Life in Edinburgh

From 1787, Burns begins to live permanently in Edinburgh. Here he meets a fan of national music James Johnson. Together they begin to publish a collection, which they give the name "Scottish Museum of Music". The hero of our article remains its editor almost until the end of his life.

Together with Johnson, they are engaged in the popularization of Scottish folklore. This edition publishes a large number of ballads in the processing of Burns himself, as well as his own author's works.

They collected texts and melodies by any means from various sources, and if some lines turned out to be irretrievably lost or too frivolous, Robert Burns, a famous poet of his time, replaced them with his own. And he did it so skillfully that it was simply impossible to distinguish them from folk ones.

He also paid attention to the release of the collection " Selected collection original Scottish melodies.

All these books brought a good income to Burns himself and his companion Johnson. True, as soon as the hero of our article had the first small capital, he invested all of it in renting a farm, but as a result, he completely burned out. In 1789, he finally abandoned his attempts to establish his own entrepreneurial business.

In 1790, having connected his own connections, which by that time he had accumulated a lot, Burns got a job as an exciseman in rural area. A few months later, he was transferred to Dumfries for diligent service, and his salary became the poet's main source of income for the coming years.

Due to the resulting employment, he could not devote as much time to poetry as he would like. The poems of Robert Burns began to appear much less frequently. This period includes his poems "Honest Poverty", "Tam o' Shanter", as well as "Ode, dedicated to memory Mrs. Oswald." In 1793, Robert Burns the best works published for the second time in two volumes.

In 1789 he writes famous poem dedicated to John Anderson. In it, the author, who is only 30 years old, begins to reflect on the prospect of death, the completion life path, which surprises its researchers, contemporaries reacted to this with bewilderment.

Personal life

Speaking about the personal life of the hero of our article, it is worth noting that Burns led a very free lifestyle. He had three illegitimate daughters at once, who were born as a result of short-lived and casual relationships.

Robert Burns' wife's name was Jean Armor. She was his longtime lover, he sought her location for several years. In total, five children were born to happy parents.

All this time, Burns had to do poetry, in fact, in between his main work, which was vital to him in order to support his family.

At the same time, he had very good prospects for moving up the career ladder. But poor health prevented him from succeeding in the service.

At the end of life

Wherein last years his life, despite such diligence, he spent in poverty and deprivation. Moreover, a week before his death, he almost ended up in a debtor's prison.

The poet died in July 1796 in Dumfries, where he went on official business for two weeks. It is known that at that time he was already ill, felt very ill, but still had to go to settle all matters. At that time he was only 37 years old.

The authoritative biographer of Burns, James Curry, suggests that one of the reasons for his sudden death was the abuse of alcoholic beverages. But modern researchers believe that Curry himself could not be completely objective, since he was in a sobriety society, perhaps in this way he wanted to once again convince the public of the dangers of drinking alcohol.

The version according to which Burns died from a whole range of problems looks more convincing. They were caused by back-breaking physical labor since childhood, which actually undermined his health. And also played a role chronic rheumatic heart disease, which he suffered for many years, most likely since childhood. In 1796, his condition worsened significantly after he suffered from diphtheria.

On the day of the funeral of the Scottish poet, his wife Jean Armor had a fifth child. The work of Robert Burns received the most appreciated not only at home, but also far beyond its borders. His work was distinguished by emotional, lively and expressive poetry. His works have been translated into dozens of languages, including Russian, and his ballads have formed the basis of a large number of songs.

"Honest Poverty"

A classic example of the work of Robert Burns (we will describe its brief content in this article) is the poem "Honest Poverty". Here is an excerpt from it translated by Samuil Marshak, thanks to which most of the works of this Scottish poet are known to the ordinary Russian reader.

Who is honest in his poverty

Ashamed and everything else

The most miserable of people

Cowardly slave and so on.

For all that,

For all that,

Let us be poor

Wealth -

stamp on gold,

And golden -

We ourselves!

We eat bread and drink water

We cover ourselves with rags

And all that stuff

Meanwhile, the fool and the rogue

Dressed in silk and drinking wine

And all that stuff.

With all that

For all that,

Don't judge by the dress.

Who honestly feeds on labor, -

Such I call nobility.

In the eyes of the author of the work, an honest person, even if he is poor, deserves great respect. This is the main motive of the poem by Robert Burns (its summary is in the article). The true dignity for which a person should be respected lies in diligence and intelligence.

As the poet says, a silk dress will not help to hide stupidity, and dishonesty will never be drowned in expensive wine. Even the ruler cannot solve this problem. He can appoint his lackey general, but do honest man no one is able, unless the person himself wishes it.

The poem ends with Burns' prediction that sooner or later the hour will come, honor and intelligence will come to the fore and will be truly valued, and not flattery and rewards.

It is worth noting that the poem has a fervent refrain: "For all that, for all that." This makes it very musical, it goes well with music, it can easily be remade into a fun folk song with meaning.

For many years, this work inspired the souls of poor people, instilled in them confidence in themselves and in the future, awakened human dignity which is always important to keep.

According to reviews of Robert Burns, many of his works are exactly like that. They denounce deceit, vanity and stupidity, paying tribute to honesty, sincerity and conscientious work. Burns himself adhered to these principles in his life.

Language features

In the stories about Robert Burns, special attention is always paid to his unique language, which immediately distinguishes him from most other poets. It is worth noting that he received his basic education in a rural school, but at the same time his teacher was John Murdoch, a man with a university degree.

At the time when the poet's fame flourished, his native Scotland was at the peak of its national revival and was considered one of the most cultural corners of Europe at that time. For example, in this area small state there were five universities.

Murdoch did a lot to ensure that Burns received a comprehensive education, he saw that before him was the most talented of his students. In particular, they paid great attention to poetry, a particularly prominent representative of the British Classicism XVIII century to Alexander Pope.

The surviving manuscripts testify that Burns had an impeccable command of standard English. In particular, "Sonnet to a Thrush", "Saturday Evening of a Villager" and some of his other works are written on it.

In many of his other texts, he actively used the Scots language, which was considered at that time one of the dialects of English. It was his conscious choice, which was already declared in the title of the first collection - "Poems predominantly in the Scottish dialect."

Initially, many of his works were specially created as songs. It was not difficult, as the texts were musical and rhythmic. Russian composers were also involved in the creation of musical works, including Georgy Sviridov and Dmitry Shostakovich.

Often, Burns' songs are used in films, including domestic ones. For example, the romance "Love and Poverty" sounds in Viktor Titov's musical comedy "Hello, I'm your aunt!" performed by Alexander Kalyagin, in the lyrical comedy by Eldar Ryazanov " Love affair at work"The song "My soul has no rest" is performed by Alisa Freindlich, and from the lips of Olga Yaroshevskaya we hear the song "Love is like a red rose" in Pavel Lyubimov's school melodrama "School Waltz".

Translations into Russian

The first translation of Burns' poetic work into Russian appeared in 1800, four years after the death of the author himself. However, it became popular in Russia only in 1829, when a brochure was published under the title "Rural Saturday evening in Scotland. A free imitation of R. Borns I. Kozlov."

It is known that Belinsky was fond of the work of the Scottish poet, his two-volume edition was in the library of Alexander Pushkin. In 1831, Vasily Zhukovsky made a free adaptation of one of the most famous works of the hero of our article - the poem "John Barleycorn". Zhukovsky called it "Confession of a cambric scarf." It is known that in his youth Lermontov translated Burns.

Taras Shevchenko often cited Burns as an example when he defended his right to create in Ukrainian, and not in Russian.

In the Soviet Union, his poems gained wide popularity thanks to the translations of Samuil Marshak. He first took up this work in 1924. At the same time, the first full-fledged collection was released only in 1947. In total, during his life he translated into Russian 215 works of his Scottish colleague, which is approximately two-fifths of his creative heritage.

It is worth noting that Marshak's translations are often quite far from the original. But they have the ease of language characteristic of Burns himself and the maximum simplicity to which he aspired. The elevated emotional mood is as close as possible to the mood of the Scottish poet. They were highly appreciated by Korney Chukovsky, who was considered a specialist in literary translation. In 1959, Marshak was even elected honorary chairman of the Burns Federation, which was founded in Scotland.

In recent years, translations of Burns's poems performed by other authors have appeared in large numbers. But Marshak is criticized, sometimes, calling his texts inadequate.

Summing up, it should be noted that the popularity of this Scottish poet in our country is so great that up to 90% of his creative heritage has already been translated.

Robert Burns, a famous Scottish poet, popularizer of folklore, was born into a poor peasant family on January 25, 1759 in the county of Ayrshire, the village of Alloway. In 1760 his father became a tenant of the farm and very early introduced Robert and his brother to hard physical labor. He happened to learn what hunger is, and all this subsequently negatively refused to his health. In the short breaks between work, young Burns read avidly everything that could fall into his hands in their village. Often these were cheap pamphlets with plain content, but thanks to them, as well as to his mother and servants, Robert became more familiar with Scottish folklore, which became an important part of his life. creative life. The first poems came out from under his own pen in 1774.

Moving to the Lochley farm in 1777 marked the beginning of a new stage in his biography. Here he found himself kindred spirits, became the organizer of the Bachelors Club. However, in 1781, Burns found a more serious company: he became a Freemason, and this circumstance left a rather serious imprint on his creative style. Fame in his native Scotland came with the publication of the satirical poems The Two Shepherds and The Prayer of Holy Willy (1784 and 1785). However, Burns really became famous after the publication of his “Poems, written mainly in the Scottish dialect” in 1786.

In 1787, the poet moved to Edinburgh, where he became a welcome guest in high society, gained the patronage of influential people, received the status of the "bard of Caledonia", which was awarded to him by the meeting of the Scottish Grand Masonic Lodge. In the capital of Scotland, he met J. Johnson, a passionate admirer of national Scottish music. Burns became involved in publishing a collection called The Scottish Museum of Music and was, in fact, the editor for the rest of his life. From different sources melodies and texts were scrupulously collected by him, and if some lines were lost or too frivolous, he replaced them with his own, and this was so skillfully that it was impossible to distinguish them from folk ones. He also worked on the collection "A Selected Collection of Original Scottish Melodies".

With the royalties earned, the author decided to rent a farm, but this commercial venture was not successful. In 1789, he abandoned further attempts to set up a business, thanks to useful connections got a job in a rural area excise duty, in July 1790 he was transferred to Dumfries for good service, and the salary became the main source of his income. Due to his employment, Burns could not devote much time to poetry, however, during this period of his biography such famous works were written as the poems "Tam o' Shanter" (1790), "Honest Poverty" (1795); in 1793 the poems were published for the second time in Edinburgh in two volumes.

Robert Burns had good career prospects but started serious problems with well-being. On July 21, 1796, the heart of a 37-year-old man stopped. It happened in Dumfries. On the day when the famous Scottish poet was buried, July 25, his fifth child was born with his wife Jean Armor. Biographers of the century before last attributed early death to a too free lifestyle, excessive drinking, but in the 20th century. researchers were more inclined to the version of the fatal role of progressive rheumatic heart disease - consequences difficult childhood and youth.

The work of the poet-bard was highly appreciated not only in his homeland, where he was considered an outstanding folk poet. His simple, and at the same time "live", emotional, expressive poetry was translated into a large number of languages, formed the basis of many songs.

Brief biography of the poet, the main facts of life and work:

ROBERT BURNS (1759-1796)

The great Scottish poet Robert Burns was born on January 25, 1759 in the village of Alloway (County Ayr) in the family of a gardener and tenant farmer William Burness. The poet's mother was named Agnes Brown (1732-1820), she was from Mayball. Robert had three brothers and three sisters.

The family lived in poverty. Suffice it to say that Robert and his brother Gilbert went to school in turns, since the father, who was trying to give his children an education without fail, did not have the means to pay for two students at once.

Later, several farmers, including Burns's father, pooled their money to invite teachers for their children. They became the eighteen-year-old Murdoch, a capable and energetic young man. He taught Robert literary English, grammar and French. Burns read French authors in the original and spoke French. Subsequently, he independently studied Latin language. After moving to work in the city, the teacher Murdoch continued to maintain friendship with Burns and supplied him with books. The son of the poorest Scottish peasant, Robert Burns became an educated and well-read man.

In 1765, the Burnses leased the Mount Oliphant farm, and Robert worked here as an adult worker, malnourished and overworked his heart. Exactly hard work on Mount Oliphant eventually became the main cause of the poet's early death.

Everyone who knew Robert during these years later recalled his great passion for reading. The boy read everything that came to hand - from penny pamphlets to Shakespeare and Milton. Burns recorded his first original poem in 1774. It was "I used to love a girl..."

Provincial life is not full of any bright, amazing events. So the fate of Burns was full of inner passions, but outwardly proceeded slowly and corny against the backdrop of minor troubles and numerous love stories.

In 1777 his father moved to the Lochley farm near Tarbolton, and a new era began for the young man. The most important step in his life was the entry on July 14, 1781 into the Tarbolton Masonic lodge of St. David, which largely determined further fate poet. It was the Freemasons who supported him in his literary activities.

On February 13, 1784, William Burns died, and with the money left after him, Robert and Gilbert moved the family to the Mossgil farm near Mochlin. Here the young man entered into an affair with the maid Betty Peyton, and on May 22, 1785, his illegitimate daughter Elizabeth (1785-1817) was born to him. The birth of a girl caused a stir in Puritan society. Robert was penalized for fornication.

It's funny, but just by this time, Burns had already gained some fame as the author of bright friendly messages, dramatic monologues and satires.

In the same 1785, Robert Burns came real love- the poet fell in love with Jean Armor (1765-1854), daughter of the wealthy Mohlin contractor John Armor. Passion reached the point that Burns, according to unwritten Scottish laws, gave the girl a written "commitment", which certified the actual, but not yet legal marriage. Jean showed the document to her father, but he, being a witness to Robert's public penance, tore the "obligation" and refused to take the poet as a son-in-law.

In the midst of a passionate affair with Jean, the poet received an offer to emigrate to Jamaica. But there was no money for the trip. It was then that friends advised Robert to publish a collection of his poems, and to go to America with the proceeds from its sale.

Burns' first book, Poems, was published in Kilmarnock in the summer of 1786, with a print run of 1,200 copies. It was written mainly in the Scottish dialect. Half of the circulation immediately went out by subscription, organized by the Masonic lodge among its members, friends and relatives of the Masons. The rest of the run was sold out in a few weeks. And overnight, unexpected fame came to Robert Burns. The doors of the richest houses in Scotland opened before him.

On July 9, 1786, James Armor sued Burns for adultery. The court sentenced the libertine to be thrown into prison until he guarantees the payment of a huge sum for the damage suffered by the Armors. In the end, Burns and Jean had to serve out their terms in the "penitence pew" in the church, where they "received public censure for the sin of adultery."

Later, they managed to pay off Betty Peyton, who still claimed Robert as the father of her daughter. The woman was paid 20 pounds, and she resigned herself to the fate of a single mother.

With the assistance of J. Cunningham, on December 14, 1786, he entered into an agreement with the Edinburgh publisher W. Creech. In the capital, Burns was enthusiastically received, he was constantly invited to secular salons, he was patronized by the Caledonian Hunters, a very influential club for the elite, whose members were also Masons. The leaders of the Grand Masonic Lodge of Scotland proclaimed Burns "The Bard of Caledonia".

The Edinburgh edition of the Poems appeared on 21 April 1787. The publisher, printer and artist of the book were Freemasons; the book was purchased mainly by members of the lodge and people associated with them. In total, the publication collected about 3,000 subscribers and brought Burns about 500 pounds, including one hundred guineas, for which he ceded the copyright to Creech.

About half of the proceeds went to help Gilbert and his family in Mossgil, with the remaining amount Burns decided to arrange his life.

Before leaving Edinburgh in May 1787, Burns met James Johnson. This semi-literate engraver was fanatically fond of Scottish music. With his own accumulated money, he published the collection "Scottish Museum of Music", which he decided to turn into an almanac. From the autumn of 1787 until the end of his life, Burns became the de facto editor of this publication (a total of 5 volumes were published). He not only collected texts and melodies, but under the guise of folk art published poems of his own composition in almanacs, even added to the lost ones or rewrote obscene texts of folk works. The poet did it so talentedly that at present, in the absence of documented evidence, it is impossible to distinguish where Burns's work is and where the real folk text is. It is known that the poet created only about 300 such poems.

On July 8, 1787, Robert Burns returned to Mochlin. All-Scottish fame preceded his arrival. Accordingly, the attitude towards him in the village also changed. First of all, the poet was favorably accepted by the Armors, and relations with Jean resumed.

However, it suddenly became known that while in Edinburgh, Robert entered into an affair with the maid Peggy Cameron, who gave birth to a child from him and immediately filed a lawsuit against her lover. I had to return to the capital.

While the legal battle dragged on, on December 4, 1787, Burns met an educated married lady, Agnes Craig M'Lehoose. They developed a close relationship (they lasted almost the entire life of Burns), but three days after they met, the poet sprained his knee and was bedridden. And then the famous love correspondence began, in which Agyness Craig preferred to act under the pseudonym Clarinda.

Once, in a conversation with a doctor who used him, Burns spoke about his desire to enter public service. The doctor was acquainted with the Commissioner of Excise in Scotland, R. Graham. Upon learning of the poet's desire, Graham allowed Burns to be trained as an exciseman (tax collector).

On July 14, 1788, the poet received a proper diploma. At the same time, to increase income, he rented the Ellisland farm. On August 5, 1788, the marriage of Burns and Jean Armor, who by that time was again pregnant, was finally officially recognized. On March 3, 1789, a woman gave birth to two girls, who soon died.

During the three years he spent in Ellisland, Burns worked primarily on texts at the Scottish Museum of Music, and also wrote for the two-volume anthology The Scottish Side, which he was preparing for publication by Fr. Grose, a story in verse "Tam O'Shanter".

The farm acquired by Burns turned out to be unprofitable. Fortunately, the poet received, under patronage, an excise duty in his rural area. The authorities were pleased with his diligence, in July 1790, Burns was transferred to serve in Dumfries. At the same time, he refused to rent Ellisland and began to live on one salary.

Meanwhile, in 1789, the Great French Bourgeois Revolution began. Frightened British authorities began investigating the loyalty of civil servants.

Burns spoke out openly in support of the revolution. Once the poet, along with other customs and excise officials, participated in the disarmament of a smuggling ship. It was decided to sell the captured guns at auction. Burns bought them with all the money he had and sent them to France as a gift to the Convention, which was just at war with the European coalition, including Great Britain. In other words, the great nationalist Burns, for the sake of his parochial political ambitions, sent powerful weapons to the enemy to kill his compatriots. Fortunately, the guns were intercepted by the British at sea.

By December 1792, so many denunciations had accumulated against Burns that Excise Chief William Corbet arrived in Dumfries to conduct an inquest in person. To be fair to the excise officials, Corbet and Graham's efforts resulted in Burns being ordered not to talk too much. He was still going to be promoted...

But unexpectedly, in 1795, the poet became seriously ill with rheumatism. When he was already lying on his deathbed, the merchant, to whom Burns owed a negligible amount for the cloth, sued the dying man. The poet did not have seven pounds to pay the debt, and he was threatened with a debtor's prison. In desperation, Burns for the first and last time asked for help from George Thomson, the publisher of a collection of Scottish songs (Burns sent his poems to the collection for free). Thomson sent him the required amount, because he knew that a proud poet would not accept a large amount.

Robert Burns (1759-1796)

The names of Shakespeare, Byron or Burns in the minds of Russian people coexist with the names of Pushkin, Lermontov, and we are not surprised that British poets have spoken in our native language. This happened thanks to the work of several generations of translators, but above all due to the very high level of Russian poetic culture in general, which was formed by Pushkin and Zhukovsky, Tyutchev, Blok, Pasternak and many other great creators. In the case of Robert Burns, something else happened. It was opened to the Russian reader by S. Marshak. And not just opened, but made, as it were, almost a Russian poet. The whole world knows Burns, but the poet's compatriots, the Scots, consider our country to be his second homeland. “Marshak made Burns Russian, leaving him to the Scots,” wrote Alexander Tvardovsky.

The fact is that Marshak did not literally follow the rhythm, stanza, the accuracy of the meaning of each line - he found a kind of translation equivalent to the very elements of the Scottish poet's work. Not all specialists are satisfied with this approach, but it was in these translations that Burns immediately and forever entered us, we believed this version - and I think it is unlikely that more successful ones will be accurate translations. Still, the spirit of poetry is more important than the letter.

Overnight stay on the way

Darkness overtook me in the mountains,

January wind, sharp snow.

Closed tightly at home

And I couldn't find accommodation.

Luckily the girl is alone

Met me along the way

And she offered me

Enter her hidden house.

I bowed low to her

The one that saved me in a blizzard

He respectfully bowed to her

And asked to make a bed.

She is the thinnest cloth

Made a modest bed

And, having treated me with wine,

I wished you a good sleep.

I was sorry to part with her

And to keep her from leaving

I asked the girl: - Is it possible

Bring another pillow?

She brought a pillow

Under my head.

And she was so sweet

That I hugged her tightly.

There was blood in her cheeks,

Two bright lights flared up.

- If you have love for me,

Leave me girl!

The silk of her hair was soft

And curled like a hop

She was fragrant of roses,

The one who made my bed.

And her chest was round,

Seemed like an early winter

With my breath

Those two little hills.

I kissed her on the mouth

The one who made my bed

And she was all clean

Like this mountain blizzard.

She didn't argue with me

She didn't open her pretty eyes.

And between me and the wall

She fell asleep at a late hour.

Waking up in the first light of day

I fell in love with my friend again.

“Oh, you killed me! —

My love told me

Kissing the eyelids of wet eyes

And a curl that curls like hops

I said: - Many, many times

You will make my bed!

Then she took the needle

And she sat down to sew a shirt for me.

January morning at the window

She sewed a shirt for me...

Days go by, years go by

Flowers are blooming, a blizzard is sweeping,

But I will never forget

The one who made my bed.

The spirit of Burns's poetry is first of all the spirit of the people of Scotland at that time. The people, as it were, were waiting for their poet, and he appeared in the very thick of the people. In the village of Alloway, a clay hut under a thatched roof has been preserved, where Robert Burns was born on January 25, 1759. This house was built with his own hands by the father of the poet, William Burns, the son of a bankrupt farmer from the north of Scotland. In the new house, my father made a shelf for books, read a lot and even wrote something down in the evenings. And he wrote down, as it were, his future conversation with his son, and all this was called "Instruction in faith and piety."

The father cared a lot about the education of children. When Robert was seven years old and his brother Gilbert was six years old, his father invited the teacher John Murdoch to the house, who enthusiastically recited Milton and Shakespeare, and explained difficult passages. He introduced the boys to the classics, taught them to expressively read poetry and speak English correctly.

The work of Burns was very strongly influenced by classical examples in the literary English language, and the native common Scottish dialect, in which his mother sang songs, in which he was told terrible tales about witches and werewolves.

The boys worked with their father on the farm - they helped to plow, sow, harvest. One summer, Robert fell in love for the first time with a girl from a neighboring farm. “So love and poetry began for me,” he later recalled.

Land, peasant labor, pure love - they became the main themes in his work. And at the same time, all the stanzas of Burns are permeated with the melody of old Scottish poetry and music.

Who knocks there late at night?

"Of course I'm Findlay!"

- Go home. Everyone sleeps with us!

"Not all!" Findlay said.

How dare you come to me?

"Dare!" Findlay said.

- I bet you will do things.

"I can!" Findlay said.

- Open the gate for you...

"Well!" Findlay said.

"You won't let me sleep until dawn!"

"I'm not giving it!" Findlay said.

How this dialogue ended, the reader can find out by reading Burns's book of poems and ballads. We have, thank God, Burns published and published a lot.

So, the people heard their native music in Burns's poems, heard their own soul and saw themselves.

Burns was not just a talented nugget. He received, firstly, a good education, and, secondly, he did a lot of self-education. Then in the salons of Edinburgh, where Burns will come to publish his poems, his culture and knowledge will be surprised.

To mature talent a huge impact rendered a volume of poetry by Robert Fergusson - young poet who died at the age of twenty-four. He wrote poetry in the Scottish dialect. Burns was amazed at what beautiful poetry could be written in the "vernacular dialect." Burns began to collect old songs and ballads, draw poetry from them. And on the grave of Fergusson, he later put a granite slab with his lines carved on it:

No urn, no solemn word,

There is no statue in his fence,

Only a bare stone says sternly:

— Scotland! Under the stone is your poet!

After the death of his father, Burns became the head of the family and the owner of the new farm. During the day he worked hard on the farm, and in the evenings he went to dance in Mochlin. He has many poems about the girls he danced with.

In Mohlin, Robert met Jean, who became his lifelong love. According to an old Scottish custom, they first entered into a secret marriage, for this it was necessary to sign a "marriage contract", according to which the beloved "recognize themselves forever as husband and wife." Then Robert went to work to provide for his family. Jean was expecting a baby. On September 3, 1786, she gave birth to twins - a boy and a girl, who were named after their parents Robert and Jean.

A whole story is connected with the "marriage contract". Jean's parents tore up this contract and filed a complaint against Burns in the church board and court. There were many worries. But by this time, Burns had a book out and fame came to him. Then came the Edinburgh edition of Burns' poems and poems - after which he was already met everywhere as a glorious bard. All of Scotland heard his voice. The church officially recognized the marriage - and the family began to live together. Jean soon gave birth to another boy.

The poet is thirty years old. He worked hard on the new farm, writing poetry and even philosophical treatises. He refused fees.

One dream since then I've been living:

Serve the country to the best of your ability

(Let them be weak!),

Benefit the people -

Well, invent something

Or at least sing a song! ..

The well-known translator O. Wright-Kovalyova, in the preface to one of Burns' books, writes that “the last years were the most difficult in Burns's life. He was a civil servant - and a hardened rebel, a happy father of a family - and the hero of many romantic adventures, peasant son- a friend of the "most noble families" ... On July 21, 1796, the poet died, leaving his family without any means. Burns was buried with pomp: regular troops marched ceremonially to the cemetery, playing a crackling and soulless funeral march. Jean could not see Robert off: at that hour she gave birth to his fifth son. Friends took care of her and the children.”

After many years English king granted Burns' widow a pension, but Jean refused the pension.

* * *
You read the biography (facts and years of life) in a biographical article dedicated to the life and work of the great poet.
Thank you for reading. ............................................
Copyright: biographies of the lives of great poets

Years of life: from 01/25/1759 to 07/21/1796

British (Scottish) poet, folklorist, author of numerous poems and poems written in the so-called "plain Scottish" and English.

He was born on January 25, 1759 in Alloway (County Ayr) in the family of a gardener and tenant farmer William Burns. Robert and his brother Gilbert went to school for two years. In 1765, his father leased the Mount Oliphant farm, and from the age of 12 Robert worked as an adult worker, malnourished and overworked his heart. He read everything that came to hand, from penny pamphlets to Shakespeare and Milton. At school, he heard only English speech, but from his mother and old servants and from the same pamphlets he joined the language of Scottish ballads, songs and fairy tales. In 1777 his father moved to Lochley Farm near Tarbolton, and Robert began to new life. At Tarbolton he found company to his liking, and soon became its leader. In 1780, Burns and his friends organized a cheerful "Bachelor's Club", and in 1781 he joined the Masonic lodge. On February 13, 1784, his father died, and with the money left after him, Robert and Gilbert moved the family to the Mossgil farm near Mohlin. Even earlier, in 1783, Robert began to write down his youthful poems and rather grandiloquent prose in a notebook. The relationship with the maid Betty Peyton led to the birth of his daughter on May 22, 1785. Local clergy took the opportunity and imposed a penance for fornication on Burns, but this did not stop the laity from laughing while reading the Holy Fair and the Prayer of Saint Willy that went on the lists.

At the beginning of 1784, Burns discovered the poetry of R. Fergusson and realized that the Scottish language is by no means a barbaric and dying dialect and is capable of conveying any poetic shade - from salty satire to lyrical delights. He developed the tradition of Fergusson, especially in the genre of aphoristic epigram. By 1785, Burns had already gained some fame as the author of bright friendly messages, dramatic monologues and satires.

In 1785, Burns fell in love with Jean Armor (1765-1854), the daughter of the Mohlin contractor J. Armor. Burns gave her a written "commitment" - a document, according to Scottish law, certifying the actual, albeit illegal marriage. However, Burns' reputation was so bad that Armor broke his "commitment" in April 1786 and refused to take the poet as a son-in-law. Even before this humiliation, Burns had decided to emigrate to Jamaica. It is not true that he published his poems in order to earn money for the trip - the idea of ​​​​this publication came to him later. Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, printed in Kilmarnock went on sale on August 1, 1786. Half of the 600 copies sold by subscription, the rest was sold in a few weeks. Glory came to Burns almost overnight. Noble gentlemen opened the doors of their mansions to him. Armor dropped the lawsuit, and Betty Peyton was paid off with £20. September 3, 1786 Jean gave birth to twins.

The local nobility advised Burns to forget about emigration, go to Edinburgh and announce a nationwide subscription. He arrived in the capital on November 29 and, with the assistance of J. Cunningham and others, concluded an agreement on December 14 with the publisher W. Krich. During the winter season, Burns was in great demand in high society. He was patronized by the "Caledonian Hunters", members of an influential club for the elite; at a meeting of the Grand Masonic Lodge of Scotland, he was proclaimed "The Bard of Caledonia". The Edinburgh edition of the Poems (published April 21, 1787) collected about three thousand subscribers and brought Burns about 500 pounds, including one hundred guineas, for which he, having obeyed bad advice, assigned the copyright to Creech. About half of the proceeds went to help Gilbert and his family in Mossgil.

Before leaving Edinburgh in May, Burns met J. Johnson, a semi-literate engraver and fanatical lover of Scottish music, who had recently published the first issue of The Scots Musical Museum. From the autumn of 1787 until the end of his life, Burns was actually the editor of this publication: he collected texts and melodies, supplemented the surviving passages with stanzas of his own composition, and replaced lost or obscene texts with his own. He was so successful at this that, without documented evidence, it is often impossible to determine where folk texts, and where are the texts of Burns. For the "Museum", and after 1792 for the more refined, but less bright "Selected Original Scottish Melodies" ("Select Collection of Original Scottish Airs", 1793-1805) by J. Thomson, he wrote more than three hundred texts, each on his own motive.

Burns triumphantly returned to Mohlin on July 8, 1787. Half a year of fame did not turn his head, but changed the attitude towards him in the village. The Armors welcomed him and he rekindled his relationship with Jean. But the Edinburgh maid Peggy Cameron, who gave birth to a child from Burns, sued him, and he again went to Edinburgh.

There, on December 4, he met the educated married lady Agnes Craig M "Lehuz. Three days later he dislocated his knee and, bedridden, started a love correspondence with "Clarinda", as she called herself. The dislocation had more significant consequences. the doctor was acquainted with the Commissioner of Excise in Scotland R. Graham. Having learned about the desire of the poet to serve in the excise, he turned to Graham, who allowed Burns to undergo proper training. The poet underwent it in the spring of 1788 in Mochlin and Tarbolton and received his diploma on July 14. Perspective alternative source earnings gave him the courage to sign on March 18 a contract for the lease of Ellisland Farm.

Upon learning that Jean was pregnant again, her parents kicked her out of the house. Burns returned to Mohlin on February 23, 1788 and, apparently, immediately recognized her as his wife, although the announcement took place only in May, and the church court approved their marriage only on August 5. On March 3, Jin gave birth to two girls who died soon after. On June 11, Burns began work on the farm. By the summer of 1789, it became clear that Ellisland would not bring income in the near future, and in October, under patronage, Burns received an excise post in his rural area. He played it beautifully; in July 1790 he was transferred to Dumfries. In 1791, Burns relinquished his lease on Ellisland, moved to Dumfries and lived on the salary of an exciseman.

The creative work of Burns for three years in Ellisland was reduced mainly to texts for Johnson's "Museum", with one major exception - a story in verse by Tam O "Shanter". In 1789, Burns met the collector of antiquities Fr. Grose, who compiled a two-volume anthology of Scottish antiquities (The Antiquities of Scotland). The poet suggested that he give an engraving depicting the Alloway church in the anthology, and he agreed - on the condition that Burns write a legend about witchcraft in Scotland to accompany the engraving. Thus, one of the best ballads in the history of literature was born.

Meanwhile, passions flared up around the French Revolution, which Burns accepted with enthusiasm. There were investigations into the loyalty of civil servants. By December 1792, so many denunciations had accumulated on Burns that Chief Exciseman William Corbet arrived in Dumfries in order to personally conduct an inquiry. Through the efforts of Corbet and Graham, it all ended with the fact that Burns was obliged not to talk too much. He was still going to be promoted, but in 1795 he began to lose his health: rheumatism affected his heart, which had been weakened in adolescence. Burns died July 21, 1796.

Burns is praised as a romantic poet - in the everyday and literary sense of this definition. However, Burns' worldview was based on the practical common sense of the peasants among whom he grew up. He had nothing in common with romanticism. On the contrary, his work marked the last flowering of Scottish poetry in their native language - lyrical, earthly, satirical, sometimes mischievous poetry, the traditions of which were laid down by R. Henryson (c. 1430 - c. 1500) and W. Dunbar (c. 1460 - c. 1530), forgotten during the Reformation and revived in the 18th century. A. Ramsey and R. Ferguson.

Initially, many of Burns's works were created as songs, were reworked or written to the melody of folk songs. Burns's poetry is simple, rhythmic and musical, and it is no coincidence that in the Russian translation many poems were set to music. D. Shostakovich and G. Sviridov were engaged in the creation of musical works in their time. A. Gradsky's repertoire includes a cycle of compositions based on Burns' poems, for example, "In the fields under snow and rain ..." (S. Marshak's translation of the poem "Oh Wert Thou In The Cauld Blast"). The Belarusian group "Pesnyary" performed a series of works on the words of Burns. The Moldovan group "Zdob Si Zdub" performs the song "You left me" to the words of Burns. The folk group "Melnitsa" set to music the ballad "Lord Gregory" and the poem "Highlander". Often songs based on the verses of a Scottish poet were used in films. Of the most popular, one can note the romance "Love and Poverty" from the movie "Hello, I'm your aunt!" performed by A. Kalyagin and the song "There is no peace in my soul ..." from the movie "Office Romance". Of the lesser known - "Green Valley", "Gorodok" performed by the ensemble "Ulenspiegel".