English Language and Literature Commons^™

Discusses different 19th century claims about whether Burns wrote the poem "What ails ye now" (Kinsley 119B, also known as "Robert Burns's Answer," "A Letter to a Taylor," "Reply to a Trimming Epistle from a Tailor," and "Answer to a Trimming Epistle"), which was not published in Burn's lifetime, and for which no manuscript in Burns's hand is known; describes and illustrates, a contemporary or near-contemporary manuscript in another hand that has numerous variants from the early printed text; and examines the possible relationship between the two texts and their implications for the authorship debate.