Reading Robert Burns

Robert Burns is Scotland's greatest cultural icon. Yet, despite his continued popularity, critical work has been compromised by the myths that have built up around him. McGuirk focuses on Burns's poems and songs, analysing his use of both vernacular Scots and literary English to provide a unique reading of his work. Well-known and obscure texts are discussed and set in the context of the time they were written, and the influence of earlier and contemporary poets is considered. The work will shed new light on Burns as a writer whose influence is still keenly felt today.