of Scottish folk tradition and older Scottish poetry, he became aware of the literary possibilities of the Scottish regional dialects. During the next two years he produced most of his best-known poems, including “The Cotter’s Saturday Night,” “Hallowe’en,” “To a Daisy,” and “To a Mouse.” In addition, he wrote “The Jolly Beggars,” a cantata in standard English, which is considered one of his masterpieces. Several of his poems, notably “Holy Willie’s Prayer,” satirized local ecclesiastical squabbles and attacked Calvinist theology, which brought him into conflict with the church.Burns was viewed by society in many different ways. For example, Burns further angered church authorities by having several indiscreet love affairs. In 1785 he fell in love with Jean Armour. She soon became pregnant, and although Burns offered to make her his wife, her father forbade their marriage. Soon enough, Armour had twins. In 1786, he moved to Edinburgh, where he was lionized by a fashionable society. While Burns was in Edinburgh, he successfully published a second edition of Poems, which earned him a considerable amount of money and popularity within society. From the proceeds he was able to tour the English border in 1787 and the highlands and finance another winter in Edinburgh. Soon after, Burns married Jean Armour. Then, Burns moved further up in society when in 1791 he was appointed to a position in the Excise Service and no longer worked on any farm.After the outbreak of the French Revolution, Burns became an outspoken champion of the Republican cause. His enthusiasm for liberty and social justice dismayed many of his admirers. After Franco-British relations began to deteriorate, he curbed his radical sympathies, and in 1794, for patriotic reasons, he joined the Dumfriesshire Volunteers. Burns died in Dumfries on July 21, 1796....
