Literature in English, British Isles Commons^™

Burns And Chapbooks: A Bibliographer's Twilight Zone, Iain Beavan

Studies in Scottish Literature

Based on records for 358 chapbooks containing material by Robert Burns, published in Scotland, England and Ireland, between the 1780s and the 1880s, provides statistical information on their distribution by date and place of publication, and discusses some of the special research issues raised by this publication format, especially relating to the attribution (and misattribution) of authorship.

Robert Burns In Print At The National Library Of Scotland, Robert Betteridge

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses the early Burns editions now in the National Library of Scotland, compares the NLS holdings to those of other major UK research libraries, examines the limited role of the deposit privilege in bring early Burns editions to the Advocates' Library before the founding of the NLS, and provides examples of significant early editions that were subsequently acquired for the library by purchase and donation.

Books Noted And Received, Patrick Scott

Studies in Scottish Literature

Short reviews and brief notices of twenty-one recent books in Scottish literary studies.

'Upon The Decaying Kirk': A Footnote To Ane Dialogue, Jamie Reid Baxter

Studies in Scottish Literature

Prints a short Scottish verse-fragment from the 1630s, "Upon the Decaying Kirk," and discusses its relation to an earlier, longer workAne Dialogue (1619: see SSL 43:1) and to presbyterian protests in the Edinburgh High Kirk against the introduction of episcopalianism under King Charles I.

Scots Take The Wheel: The Problem Of Period And The Medieval Scots Alliterative Thirteen-Line Stanza, Andrew W. Klein

Studies in Scottish Literature

Examines distinctively Scottish forms of the alliterative thirteen-line stanza, best known in standard English surveys from Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, and argues that the stanza has a longer, more varied, independent use in Scottish poetry that should not be treated primarily in terms of English parallels.

Sorley Maclean's Other Clearance Poems, Petra Johana Poncarová

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses the treatment of the Highland Clearances, specifically the clearances from his home-island of Raasay, in the work of the Gaelic poet Sorley MacLean (Somhairle MacGill-Eain, 1911-1996), not only in his best-known Clearance poem "Hallaig," but in his prose writings, his major early sequence An Cuilithionn (1939, but not fully published till 2011), and several important shorter poems, “Am Putan Airgid” (“The Silver Button”), “‘Tha na beanntan gun bhruidhinn,’” and (more fully) “Sgreapadal.”

Robert Burns's Hand In 'Ay Waukin, O': The Roy Manuscript And William Tytler's Dissertation (1779), Patrick G. Scott

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses Robert Burns's sources and manuscripts for his expansion of the song "Ay waukin, O," first published as song 213 in James Johnson's Scots Musical Museum, III (1790); highlights an often neglected and misdated printed item, William Tytler’s Dissertation, as Burns's source for two of the four stanzas; considers the two full-length manuscripts, identifying one as being an Antique Smith forgery, and detailing the provenance and purpose, of the other, now at the Birthplace Museum; examines and reproduces the Roy manuscript and its pencilled additions; and so clarifies the relationship among the three genuine manuscripts to argue that …

Scotland And The Caribbean, Jo Durant

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses (and summarizes) Michael Morris's recent book Scotland and the Caribbean, c. 1740-1833, concluding that it should be welcomed, not only as an introduction to specific writers, but as a good introduction to recent debates on the legacy of Caribbean slavery, as seen from a Scottish perspective.

Alexander Arbuthnot And The Lyric In Post-Reformation Scotland, Joanna Martin

Studies in Scottish Literature

Presents the first critical discussion of manuscript poems in the Maitland Quarto attributable to Alexander Arbuthnot (1538-1583), the first Protestant principal of King's College, Aberdeen; gives detailed discussion of attribution and textual issues; and discusses the effects of religious change on Arbuthnot's writing of amatory, ethical and devotional lyric in post-Reformation Scotland.

William Reid And The First Newspaper And Chapbook Publication Of Robert Burns's "Written In Friar's Carse Hermitage", Patrick G. Scott

Studies in Scottish Literature

Traces the first newspaper and chapbook publication of Robert Burns's poem "Written in Friar's Carse Hermitage," written in 1788 and first published in September 1791 in the Glasgow Courier; links the publication to that of Burns's "Ode to the Shade [or in Memory] of [James] Thomson," written for the Earl of Buchan's Thomson commemoration that year; and connects publication in both formats to Burns's friend the Glasgow publisher William Reid, although this date for the chapbook antedates by several years the date usually given for the first chapbook publications by the firm of Brash and Reid.

Books Noted And Received, Patrick G. Scott

Studies in Scottish Literature

Brief reviews of twenty-five recent publications in Scottish literary studies, including editions of works by Burns, Hogg, and Stevenson, and biographies of John Moore, John Pinkerton, and Alexander Smith.

"A Flame That Is Burning The World": Edwin Muir, War, And History, Margery Palmer Mcculloch

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses the impact of successive wars on the Scottish poet, translator and critic Edwin Muir (1887-1959), with especial focus on his experiences in post-World War II Prague and his response to the threat of nuclear warfare and human annihilation.

Tam O' Shanter And Aesthetic Cultural Nationalism, Gerard Lee Mckeever

Studies in Scottish Literature

Drawing on recent debates about Burns and Scottish romanticism, particularly comments by Murray Pittock, Nigel Leask, and Ian Duncan, discusses the pivotal scene in Robert Burns's poem "Tam o' Shanter," in which Tam's vision of the witches' carnival is framed by the window of Alloway Kirk, and argues that this can be read as a framing and aestheticization not only of folk heritage, but of a national self-image, a recalibration of nationhood.

'As I Walk'd By Mysel': A Burns Autograph Manuscript And The Problem Of Attribution, Patrick G. Scott

Studies in Scottish Literature

Describes and illustrates Robert Burns's autograph manuscript of the song "As I walk'd by mysel'" (Kinsley 686), reviews the issues and problems in attributing manuscript songs to Burns, traces the provenance of the unique manuscript, and compares the Burns version to that published by David Herd's Antient and Modern Scotish Songs (1776 etc.), concluding that the manuscript was sent by Burns to James Johnson for possible inclusion in the Scots Musical Museum, and that, while the song is not original with Burns, he may have tinkered with specific phrases to improve it.

Burns's Politics 'In Another View': Late 1792/Early 1793, Robert P. Irvine

Studies in Scottish Literature

Presents a reconsideration of Burns's political views in 1792-1793, examining in detail the original performance context of his poem "The Rights of Woman," in the Dumfries Theatre in November 1792, and the political context of his song "Why should na poor people mow," as first sent in letters to Robert Cleghorn in December 1792 and to Robert Graham of Fintry in January 1793, arguing that such "political" poems might be read less in terms of French or metropolitan revolutionary politics than in terms of major cultural and social changes in the Scottish community and networks to which Burns belonged.

'Epitaph' On Grizzel Grim: A Newly-Discovered Manuscript In The Hand Of Robert Burns, Jonathan Henderson, Pauline Mackay, Pamela Mcintyre

Studies in Scottish Literature

Describes and reproduces a newly-discovered Burns manuscript, with notes and numerical calculations relating to his work as an Excise Officer, and the four-line 'Epitaph' on Grizzel Grim (Kinsley II:926); discusses its publication history, attribution to Burns, and relation to Burns's ballad of similar title; gives a collation of variant readings; and transcribes related notes about the manuscript from the Craufurdland Castle papers.

Ossianic Telegraphy: Bardic Networks And Imperial Relays, Eric Gidal

Studies in Scottish Literature

Relates James Macpherson's Fragments of Ancient Poetry (1760) and other Ossianic poems to evolving Scottish networks of commerce and communication, especially commercial telegraphy and the postal system, and posits associations also with comments in Adam Smith's Lectures on Jurisprudence and Theory of Moral Sentiments, to suggest that Macpherson's remediation of oral poetry asserted ideas of authorial identity and readership as "relays" in a new imperial network.

Radical Attribution: Robert Burns And 'The Liberty Tree', Corey E. Andrews

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses the political symbolism of liberty trees in the American and French revolutions, and in Scotland in Burns's period, as background to reconsidering the song "The Liberty Tree," first printed among Burns's work by Robert Chambers in 1838, the authorship of which has remained a subject for debate among Burnsians; examines the song closely in terms of phrasing to argue that it is unlikely to be by Burns; and draws a distinction between attributing the song to Burns and its evident reliance on his iconic standing both in his own time and among later Scottish radicals.

"At Whigham's Inn": Mrs. Provost Whigham's Lost Kilmarnock, The Allan Young Census, And An Unexpected Discovery, Patrick G. Scott

Faculty Publications

Reports the recent acquisition by Princeton University Library of a long-lost copy of Robert Burns's first book Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect (1986), formerly owned by Burns's friend Edward Whigham; describes the later transcript it contains of the short poem "At Whigham's Inn," long attributed to Burns; and reassesses the sources and authorship of the poem.

The Prayer Of Holy Willie: A Canting, Hypocritical, Kirk Elder, Patrick G. Scott

Faculty Publications

Robert Burns wrote this famous satire on religious hypocrisy in 1785, but he did not include it in his first book Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect (1786) or in any edition published in his life-time. This edition makes accessible for the first time the locally-produced chapbook in which the poem was first printed, in 1789. The introduction discusses why the poem was written, the controversial background to the poem's first printed version, and the reasons for thinking the 1789 chapbook version was printed by John Wilson of Kilmarnock, who had printed Burns's first book three years before. An appendix …

A Bard Unkend: Selected Poems In The Scottish Dialect By Gavin Turnbull, Patrick G. Scott

Faculty Publications

The Scottish-born poet and actor Gavin Turnbull (1765-1816), a younger contemporary of Robert Burns, published two volumes of poetry in Scotland before emigrating in 1795 to the United States, where he settled in Charleston, South Carolina. This selection draws attention to a neglected aspect of Turnbull's work, his writing in Scots. Drawing on advance research for the first collected edition of Turnbull's poetry, the selection includes verse in Scots from all phases of his career, including poetry in Scots published in America, together with a biographical introduction and background notes.

The Collected Poems Of Gavin Turnbull Online, Patrick G. Scott, John Knox, Rachel Mann

Digital Projects

The Collected Poems of Gavin Turnbull contains 89 individual poems and songs, organized according to the date of their first publication. The poems are grouped into one of four sections, following the sequence of the books, manuscript, or periodicals in which they are first found. Turnbull's two prose prefaces (1788, 1794) and his short play The Recruit (also 1794) are included, but placed last, after the poems, as Appendices.

A list of the individual poems and songs in each section and links to the texts are available in the gray drop-down menu on the left-hand side of the screen. With …

In The Midst Of Our Human Civil War: Hamish Henderson’S War Poetry And Soldier’S Songs, Corey Gibson

Studies in Scottish Literature

Surveys the war poetry of the Scottish poet, folklorist, and folk-singer Hamish Henderson (1919-2002), including his service with the 51st Highland Division in the Western Desert and Sicily, drawing a contrast between his long modernist poem Elegies for the Dead in Cyrenaica (1948) and the songs in his collection Ballads of World War II (Glasgow: Lili Marleen Club, 1947), in light of Henderson's developing political ideas and engagement with the Italian cultural theorist Antonio Gramsci.

The First Publication Of Burns's 'Tam O' Shanter', Bill Dawson

Studies in Scottish Literature

Examines the early publication history of Robert Burns's poem "Alloway Kirk" or "Tam o' Shanter," which Burns wrote for Francis Grose's illustrated Antiquities of Scotl;and (1789-1791), describing Grose's method of publication in parts, restoring the priority of Grose's publication of the poem, and refuting assertions that the poem has appeared slightly earlier in two Edinburgh periodicals.

Authorial Disguise And Intertextuality: Scott’S The Lay Of The Last Minstrel, Coleridge, And Keats, Beth Lau

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses Walter Scott's first published poem The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805), exploring the relation between Scott's use of disguise and distancing devices with his use of anonymity in his fiction, and explores the intertextual relationships between his poem and other poems of the romantic era.

An Autograph Manuscript Of Robert Burns’S “Afton Braes”, Patrick G. Scott

Studies in Scottish Literature

Describes and illustrates the autograph manuscript of the song "Afton Braes" ("Flow gently, sweet Afton"), by the Scottish poet Robert Burns (1759-1796), recently acquired by the G. Ross Roy Collection, University of South Carolina Libraries, giving a collation of variants against the other major sources, examining the paper's watermark and excise stamping, and exploring both the provenance of the manuscript itself and its significance for the University of South Carolina.

Footnoted Folklore: Robert Burns's "Hallowe'en", Corey E. Andrews

Studies in Scottish Literature

Examines Robert Burns's poem "Hallowe'en," first published in the Kilmarnock edition (1786), both in relation to its background in Scottish folklore and in terms of the way Burns presented it on the page, with numerous footnotes, arguing that "throughout the poem Burns acts as a participant observer in the classic anthropological sense."

A Passion For Scholarship & Collecting: The G. Ross Roy Collection Of Robert Burns & Scottish Literature, Thomas Keith

Studies in Scottish Literature

Pays tribute to G. Ross Roy as book collector, describing the origins and growth of the Robert Burns collection begun by his grandfather W. Ormiston Roy (1874-1958), of Montreal, Canada, but greatly developed by Professor Roy, before finding a permanent home in the University's Irvin Department of Rare Books.& Special Collections. Notes the range of Scottish authors now included in the collection and describes briefly many of the most distinctive and important Burns items.

Robert Burns As Dramatic Poet, R. D. S. Jack

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses Burns's skill in creating dramatic voice in his poetry, and what can be learned about the poems in their performance. Examples include "My luve is like a red, red rose," "John Anderson, my jo," "Robert Burns's March to Bannockburn," and "Tam o' Shanter."

On Editing The Merry Muses, Valentina Bold

Studies in Scottish Literature

Discusses the sources and issues in reediting the late 18th century Scottish song collection, The Merry Muses of Caledonia (1799), in connection the 50th anniversary of the first modern scholarly edition, edited by Sydney Goodsir Smith, James Barke, and J. Delancey Ferguson in 1959.