Robert Burns

Robert Burns (1759–1796) was a Scottish poet and lyricist, widely regarded as Scotland’s national poet. Born in Alloway, Ayrshire, he grew up on a tenant farm and was largely self-educated. Burns wrote in Scots as well as in English, drawing on folk song, oral tradition, and everyday rural life. His first major collection, *Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect* (1786), brought him immediate acclaim and led to a period in Edinburgh literary circles. He later worked as an exciseman while continuing to write and collect songs for projects such as *The Scots Musical Museum*. His best-known works include “Auld Lang Syne” and “Tam o’ Shanter.”