Life of robert burns

Essay by Stoneyplayboy December 2003

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Robert Burns

Robert Burns was known by the critics in his days as a literary genius, writing over 250 songs and hundreds of poems. Many critics didn't think much of him at the time because he was a heavy drinker and a womanizer. He had fifteen children, 6 of which were out of wedlock. Besides all that he was an excellent author writing such works as "Tam O' Shanter", "Auld Lang Syne", and "Comin' thro' the Rye". Because of a hard youth living in poverty on a farm he died at the young age of 37.

Burns, the oldest of seven siblings, was born on January 25, 1759 in Alloway, Scotland. His father was William Burns and his mother Agnes Burns. William Burns wasn't much of farmer and was poor for a long time. They lived in poverty until 1766 when William rented a farm. The farm was a failure and they just got even worse.

Robert got very little education because he spent most of his time working on the farm with his family. When he had the time he would read as much as he could. His father and one of their neighbors scraped together some money to hire a tutor for Robert and his younger brother Gilbert. The tutor taught them history, math, and literature. The first song Robert ever wrote was "Handsome Nell" for Nellie Kilpatrick. Nellie was a young girl that Robert had met when he went to school for a little while in a nearby town. After he wrote "Handsome Nell" he realized he had an ability to write well and tried again sometime later. The first poem that he wrote was "O Once I Loved" in 1794. After that there was no stopping his writing. In 1777 the families financial situation got...