satire were sown. At 15 Robert was the principal worker on the farm and this prompted him to start writing in an attempt to find “some kind of counterpoise for his circumstances.” It was at this tender age he penned his first verse, “My Handsome Nell”, which was an ode to the other subjects that dominated his life, namely scotch and women. When William Burness died in 1784, Robert and his brother became partners in the farm. He worked hard, wrote poetry and had several love affairs. His farm was not profitable and Burns was restless and unhappy, he was more interested in the romantic nature of poetry than farming. His rebellion against the Calvinist religion of his community led the parents of Jean Armour to forbid her marriage to Burns, even though he was pregnant with his child. Soon after Burns turned to a new relationship with Mary Campbell, who is featured in his poem ‘Highland Mary’. Because of Burns’ open support of the French Revolution it had upset the establishment and branded him a dangerous radical. He had invited Mary Campbell to immigrate with him to Jamaica, but she died before they could leave. In 1786 Burns published ‘Poems Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect’ in nearby Kilmarnock. It was an instant success, and he soon forgot about Jamaica. The poetry in the volume highlights the lives of Scottish peasants. ‘To a Mouse’ presents the world from the point of view of a field mouse dug up by a plow. Some of the work is satiric, such as the dramatic monologue ‘Holy Willie’s Prayer’, which revealed the hypocrisy Burns saw in Calvinism. Once his works were published, they received much critical acclaim. This and the fact that he had children made him stay in Scotland. After his season of fame, he reconciled with Jean Armour and her family , married her in 1788. They leased a farm in Ellisland, and then moved to Dumfries, where Burns was employed a...
