Robert Ferguson

Comments

  1. McCabeGall21 January 2024 at 11:45

    Robert Fergusson (1750-1774) is a important figure in the evolution of Scots poetry, serving as a link between the generation of Allan Ramsay and the work of Robert Burns and others. He possessed such a range in Scots and English and was comfortable and skilled in using both literary languages. He could be satirical, comical, a rich story-teller, or a melancholy commentator. He was able to cover urban and pastoral themes, and created characters that were brought to life through his verse. He also brought the Scots dialect to the fore, emphasising the colour and vividness that the sounds and meanings can bring to poetry. Several of the poems of Robert Burns are clearly influenced by Robert Fergusson.
    At the age of twenty-four Robert Ferguson had produced a remarkable body of work. If he had survived for longer it is tempting to imagine what he could have achieved or how high his creativity would have soured. Whilst Robert Burns and Robert Louis Stevenson and other artists have recognised the contribution of Robert Ferguson, maybe it is time that Scotland was offered more opportunities to celebrate one of her most talented sons.

    ReplyDelete
  2. McCabeGall23 January 2024 at 04:02

    Selected Poems in Old Scots: Robert Ferguson (1750-1774): The Poet who influenced Robert Burns and others https://amzn.eu/d/eaPZS1H

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lady Nairne

Image
Lady Nairne (1766-1845) The Laird o' Cockpen The poem is a tale of a wealthy laird who seeks a wife but whose offer of marriage is turned down by a lady who has no money.  While the poem has a humourous and satirical tone it covers a serious theme of the time, where marriage arrangements were often governed by social status and wealth. By refusing the offer from a older man, which would have ensured her a house and a title, the lady was considered 'daft', although her response was that of person not swayed by social status.  The Laird o' Cockpen The laird o’ Cockpen, he’s proud an’ he’s great, His mind is ta’en up wi’ the things o’ the State; He wanted a wife, his braw house to keep, But favour wi’ wooin’ was fashious to seek. Down by the dyke-side a lady did dwell, At his table head he thocht she’d look well, M’Leish’s ae dochter o’ Clavers-ha’ Lea, A penniless lass wi’ a lang pedigree. His wig was weel pouther’d and as gude as new, His waistcoat was white, ...
Read more

Robert Tannahill (1774-1810)

Image
Jessie, the Flower of Dunblane, Bury Art Museum, Thomas Faed (1825-1900)   Jessie the Flower o' Dunblane . Robert Tannahill, 1808   Jessie, the Flower of Dunblane  The Sun has gane down o'er the lofty Ben Lomond And left the red clouds to reside o'er the scene While lanely I stray in the calm simmer gloamin' To muse on sweet Jessie, the flow'r o' Dunblane. How sweet is the brier wi' its saft faulding blossom And sweet is the birk wi' its mantle o' green But sweeter and fairer and dear to this bosom Is charming young Jessie, the flow'r o' Dunblane. Is charming young Jessie, is charming young Jessie Is charming young Jessie, the flow'r o' Dunblane. She's modest as on-y and blythe as she's bonnie For guileless simplicity makes her its aim And far be the villain, divested of feeling Wha'd blight in its bloom, the sweet flow'r of Dunblane. Sing on, thou sweet mavis, thy hymn to the evening Thour't dear to th...
Read more

James Hogg 1770 -1835

Image
The  Piper's Stone , a boulder upon which a mortally wounded Jacobite piper was said to have played the bagpipes during the Battle of Cromdale The Haughs Of Cromdale. This ballad, the original author unknown, was collected and edited by James Hogg and concerns the Battle of  Cromdale  in Scotland, fought on April 30 and May 1, 1690 between supporters of James VII, called Jacobites, and the supporters of William III. The Jacobites would be defeated in two engagements near Cromdale village, Strathspey. The ballad describes details of the battle and the participants, but although a defeat by the Jacobites the unknown author turns it into a victory by adding details of the  Battle of Auldearn , which was fought by Royalists led by the Marquis of Montrose years before on May 9, 1645, and wrongly mixes up the opponents who were Scottish Covenanters with Oliver Cromwell's Roundheads. It is possible that elements of the little known  Battle of Tul...
Read more