The Verse-Epistles of Robert Burns: a Critical Study
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i THE VERSE-EPISTLES OF ROBERT BURNS: A CRITICAL STUDY by Gavin Scott Wilson Master of Arts(Honours) University of St. Andrews 1972 ........................... .............................. 0 Submitted in Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English, University of Stirling. September 1976 Pýý. DuoýQ «77C`ý`Ü C%W4 PREFACE I Wish to thank the staff of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow for the assistance I have received from them in my research. Mr. Fisher deserves special mention for the way in which he has guided me through the vast and, occasionally bewildering collection of Burns material. I am indebted to Dr. Donald Low and Dr. David Buchan for their perceptive and sympathetic supervision of my thesis. I should also like to thank the following individuals and institutions for their advice and assistance: Professor G. R. Roy; W. H. Dunlop; Irvine Burns Club; Clark Hunter; Mrs. N. Farquhar; Mrs. J. Stevenson; and Mr. J. Callum. Finally, I wish to record my appreciation of the invaluable support given me by my parents and my wife. CONTENTS Page 1 Introduction ................................ One 17 Chapter ................................ 75 Chapter Two ................................ 180 Chapter Three ................................ 231 Chapter Four ................................ 261 Chapter Five ................................ 287 Chapter Six ................................ 292 Appendix One ................................ 298 Appendix Two ................................ 305 Bibliography ................................ INTRODUCTION So vast is the body of published work on Burns that one must justify yet another study of the poet. From 1786 to the present, his life and poetry have always had popular appeal. In his lifetime, he was an object of attention to all classes of society, fron Ayrshire peasants to the habituA of Edinburgh drawing-roans, and detractors, idolaters, and disinterested parties have continued to scrutinize his achievements and failings. Popular attention has never wavered. In the nineteenth century especially, many and varied editions of Burns's poetry were published to satisfy this curiosity. Some were lavish, some cheap; some accurate, others, wildly imaginative. Nor has this demand noticeably slackened in the present century. Not a year passes without some book or pamphlet, albeit ephemeral, being published on Burns. To the scholarly mind, "popular", when applied to Burns studies, usually implies superficiality and this assumption all too often proves correct. It can hardly be said that the best minds of each age since Burns's death have considered him worthy of their critical attention in the way that Shakespeare, or Dante, or Milton have engaged scholars, editors, and publishers in succeeding genera- tions. Byron, Coleridge, Hazlitt, Emerson, Carlyle, and Mac=armid have commented on Burns, and in the nineteenth century important and durable editorial work was undertaken. Nevertheless, it remains true that it was not until the twentieth century, and then only in bursts, that there developed a scholarly, academic interest to match the popular enthusiasm for Robert Burns. The work of J. C. Dick on Burns's songs and J. Delancey Ferguson's edition of the poet's letters are notable early con- tributions to a more accurate study of Burns. The biographical studies of Hecht, Snyder, and Ferguson, though not entirely trust- worthy, are much superior to any previous publication. Other land- marks in the development of a more rigorous and demanding criticism of Burns's work are the articles published by Fitzhugh in the 1930's and the conservative editing of the Burns Chronicle from 1926 to 1948 by J. C. Ewing. Equally important were the criticisms of C. M. Grieve who, under the pseudonym "Hugh MacDiarmid", charged Burns with anti-intellectualism and heaped scorn on the unthinking acceptance of Burns as a major literary figure, as symptomatic of a national malaise: No' wan in fifty kens a wurd Burns wrote But misapplied is a'body's property, And gin there was his like alive the day They'd be the last a kennin' haund to gie Croose London Scotties wi' their braw shirt fronts And a' their fancy freen's, rejoicin' That similah gatherings in Timbuctoo, Bagdad - and Hell, nae doot - are voicin' Burns' sentiments o' universal love, In pidgin' English or in wild-fowl Scots, And toastin' to them but ane wha's next an ý Excuse for faitherin' Genius wi' their thochts. (11.41-52) An adequate response to this iconoclastic view did not appear until 1950, when Daiches published his study of Burns, although Edwin Muir's essay (in an uneven collection edited by W. Montgomerie in 1947) may be regarded as one influential critic's reply to MacDiarmid's challenge. From Daiches' book one can legitimately date the modern phase of Burns scholarship. The balanced critical insight shown there was supplemented throughout that decade by several important articles by American scholars such as A. H. MacLaine and by Scots like Murison and Kinghorn. In 1959, there was published a valuable compilation of secondary material, edited by J. Strawhorn and others, 1 Hugh MacDiarmid, A Drunk Man Looks At The Thistle (Edinburgh: Blackwood, 19267, pp. 2-3. 3 and the decade ended with the appearance of T. Crawford's influential assessment of Burns's life and work. This panoptic synthesis was soon followed by studies of a more particular nature from, among others, Kinsley, Bentman, and Weston. The two books by Daiches and Crawford sought to provide a comprehensive review of the poet's work such that Burns would be recognized as a major figure by the variety and scope of his achieve- ment. To this extent, these two critics were firmly in the tradition of such nineteenth-century editors as Hately Waddell, Scott Douglas, and Wallace. In conjunction with this critical method, however, there had always existed another which aimed at examining in depth one particular aspect of Burns's work. Often, this had amounted to 2 nothing more than articles like "The Fauna and Flora of Burns". However, Dick's seminal study of the songs and Ferguson's painstaking editing of Burns's correspondence showed how exhaustive work on a restricted area could prove fruitful. The studies of Egerer and Roy in bibliography, of Skinner on authentic portraits of the poet, and of Werkmeister on Burns's canplex relationship with the London press, continued this tradition. The appearance, in 1968, of Kinsley's edition of Burns's poems and songs gave fresh impetus to both the com. 3 prehensive and specialized traditions. Scholars now have a stable text, a mass of accessible, valuable annotation, and the music necess- ary for the true appreciation of Burns's lyric poetry. In 1971, the most recent critical biography of Burns appeared. Fitzhugh's book 2D. M'Naught, "The Fauna and Flora of Burns, " Burns Chronicle. OS 5 (1896), 19-33. 3James Kinsley, ed., The Poems and Songs of Robert Burns, all 3 vols. (Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1968. Henceforth, quota- tions from Burns's poetry will be taken fron this edition, unless other- wise stated. Specific poems will be referred to in an abbreviated form. Thus, "Tam o' Shanter" will be cited as K321, and similarly for other poems. 4 is an unsatisfactory work, in which too much is attempted and what is achieved is poorly organized, but specialist studies have fared rather better. In the 1970's, we have seen the publication of a collection of critical essays, each of which focuses on particular areas of interest. The editor of this book, Donald Low, has also published an illuminating series of early reviews of Burns which chart the fluctuations his poetic and biographical stock underwent until 1859. There have also been articles of a high standard by R. Bentman, by T. Crawford on Burns's political lyrics, by Weston on Burns's satire, and by Kinsley on the poet's innovating adaptation of Scottish tradi- tions. I intend that my thesis be seen as a contribution to this tradition of specialized study, and in what follows I shall undertake the first complete study of Robert Burns's epistolary verse. As I shall show, other scholars have read these poems with enthusiasm and perception. I differ fron my predecessors, however, in that I am able to devote considerably more space to the study of these superb poems, and can, therefore, offer a more exhaustive and comprehensive study than has hitherto been attempted. Burns's epistolary verse was early recognized as meriting critical attention. James Sibbald was the probable author of a re- view, published in 1786, in which Burns's "Epistle to a Brother Bard" 4 (K57) was quoted as an illustration of the poet's genius. Henry Mackenzie thought that Burns's "'Epistles to a young Friend' (Klos), W. S-n (K59)1" and to revealed to all" ... with what uncommon penetration and sagacity this Heaven-taught ploughman, frag his humble and unlettered station, has looked upon men and manners. "5 4Edinburgh Magazine, or Literary Miscellany, Oct. 1786, pp. 284-88. 5 Lounger, 9 Dec. 1786. 5 (K51) An unsigned review of 1787 quotes part of the "Epistle to Davie" as an example of "harmonious versification. "6 However, the first flash of critical insight into the epistles is to be found in Robert Heron's criticism. In the following extract, he reveals his aware- ness of the importance to Burns of an audience of critical, though sympathetic, acquaintances: A masonic song, a satirical epigram, a rhyming epistle to a friend, attempted with success, taught him to know his own powers, and gave him confidence to try tasks morg arduous, and which should command still higher bursts of applause. Until the publication of Currie's edition in 1800, however, all judgements were based on sparse evidence. Though his editorial practices cannot be commended, he did make available a greater number of epistles and threw new light on the genesis of certain poems.