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Which poems appeared in Robert Burns’s 1786 Kilmarnock volume?
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Robert Burns
Robert Burns, engraving from A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen, 1870.
Robert Burns’s 1786 volume, titled Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect, was a diverse collection that showcased his development as a craftsman. The volume included several of his most celebrated Scots poems, alongside verse letters, songs, and works written in English.1
Key poems featured in the collection include:
- Scots poems: "The Twa Dogs," "Scotch Drink," "The Holy Fair," "An Address to the Deil," "The Death and Dying Words of Poor Maillie," "To a Mouse," and "To a Louse."1
- Songs: Including "It Was Upon a Lammas Night."1
- Notable works: "The Cotter’s Saturday Night" and "To a Mountain Daisy," which were considered the stars of the volume by contemporary reviewers.1
The collection also contained a number of verse letters addressed to friends, as well as several poems in English that were described as gloomy and histrionic. Burns carefully curated this selection to appeal to a genteel audience, balancing his authentic voice with the sentimental expectations of the time.1