Epistle to J. Lapraik (excerpt)

Robert Burns 1759 (Alloway) – 1796 (Dumfries)



I am nae poet, in a sense,
   But just a rhymer like by chance,
   An' hae to learning nae pretence;
       Yet what the matter?
   Whene'er my Muse does on me glance,
       I jingle at her.

   Your critic-folk may cock their nose,
   And say, "How can you e'er propose,
   You wha ken hardly verse frae prose,
      To mak a sang?"
  But, by your leave, my learned foes,
      Ye're maybe wrang.

  What's a' your jargon o' your schools,
  Your Latin names for horns an' stools?
  If honest nature made you fools,
      What sairs your grammars?
  Ye'd better taen up spades and shools,
      Or knappin-hammers.

  A set o' dull, conceited hashes
  Confuse their brains in college classes!
  They gang in stirks and come out asses,
      Plain truth to speak;
  An' syne they think to climb Parnassus
      By dint o' Greek!

  Gie me ae spark o' Nature's fire,
  That's a' the learnin' I desire;
  Then, tho' I drudge thro' dub an' mire
      At pleugh or cart,
  My Muse, though hamely in attire,
      May touch the heart....

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on March 05, 2023

54 sec read
143

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABACBC DDDEDE FFFAAX GGGHXH CCXICI
Closest metre Iambic tetrameter
Characters 1,036
Words 175
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 6, 6

Robert Burns

Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and lyricist. more…

All Robert Burns poems | Robert Burns Books

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