ROBERT BURNS 1759 1796 BY BRITTNEY About Robert

ROBERT BURNS (1759 -1796) BY: BRITTNEY

About Robert Born in Alloway, Scotland. Born Jan. 25, 1759. Died July 21, 1796. Oldest son of a poverty-stricken farmer. First illegitimate child was borne by Elizabeth Paton in 1785. • Two sets of twins borne by Jean Amour who he later married. • First poem published on July 31, 1786. • •

The cottage where Robert was born.

Influences • Influenced by Allan Ramsay and Robert Fergusson. • And John Steinbeck, who took the title of his 1937 novel Of Mice and Men from Robert Burns’ poem To a Mouse. • He influenced William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Percy Bysshe Shelley.

The Romantic Period • The theme was nature. • Romantics saw patterns and meanings in the natural world around them. • Time of the lyrical ballad. • Brought the popularity of gothic horror novel.

JOHN ANDERSON, MY JO by: Robert Burns JOHN ANDERSON my jo, John, When we were first acquent, Your locks were like the raven, Your bonie brow was brent; But now your brow is bled, John, Your locks are like the snaw, But blessings on your frosty pow, John Anderson, my jo!

John Anderson my jo, John, We clamb the hill thegither, And mony a canty day, John, We’ve had wi’ ane anither; Now we maun totter down, John, But hand in hand we’ll go, And sleep thegither at the foot, John Anderson, my jo!

Literary Devices • The SPEAKER of the poem is John Anderson’s wife. The speaker is the person saying the poem. • The CONTRAST in the poem is the first four lines are written about young age, second four are about old age, the next four about youth, and the last four are about inevitable and eventual death.

Literary Devices cont. • There is REPETITION in the poem also. Repetition sets up expectations which are either fulfilled for the reader. It repeats words or phrases for emphasis. • There is RHYME in this poem. Rhyme is is a repetition of similar sounds in two or more words and is most often used in poetry and songs.

Literary Devices cont. • A SIMILE is a figurative speech that compares two different ideas using “like” or “as”.

WORKS CITED • “Biography of Robert Burns. ” Poem Hunter. N. P. , 9 Feb. 2011. Web. 9 Feb. 2011. • Henry, Harley. "The Romantic Period 17981832. " Holt Elements of Literature : Essentials of British and World Literature. By G. Kylene Beers and Lee Odell. Austin, TX: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2007. 706 -17. Print.

Works Cited cont. • Mcllvain, Tim. “Romantic Era (1798 -1832). ” Hi My Name is Mr. Mcllvain. N. P. n. d. Web. 9 Feb. 2011.