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The complete poetical works
1017 pages
A spirited, musical celebration of rustic life, fierce love, and the enduring bonds of humanity.
What it feels like
Reading this collection feels like stepping into an eighteenth-century Scottish tavern filled with song, laughter, and sudden, piercing moments of heartbreak. The verses demand to be read aloud, their rich Scots dialect rolling off the tongue with a musicality that bridges the gap between high art and folk tradition. It is a leisurely, immersive experience that invites you to wander through dew-soaked highlands, sit by roaring hearths, and reflect on the universal truths of love, equality, and the passage of time. The atmosphere shifts effortlessly from raucous and satirical to deeply tender and melancholic. This is a book for those who crave poetry that feels lived-in, earthy, and unapologetically human, offering a timeless embrace of the ordinary man's extraordinary heart.
- Mood
- pastoral
- convivial
- melancholic
- spirited
- Tone
- passionate
- earthy
- satirical
- earnest
- romantic
- Pace
- leisurely
- Themes
- Scottish identity and heritage · the beauty of the natural world · romantic devotion · egalitarianism and brotherhood · the fleeting nature of life
- The writing
- Lyrical, rhythmic, and deeply rooted in the Scots dialect, blending musicality with raw, unpretentious emotion.
- The arc
- A sweeping journey through the heights of romantic devotion, the warmth of tavern fellowship, and the quiet melancholy of passing time.
- Who it's for
- Lovers of classic romantic poetry, Scottish heritage, and verses that celebrate the common man and the natural world.
Content notes
- alcohol consumption
- grief and loss
About the book
T.p. and text printed within alternating red-brown, blue-green and grey illustrated borders.
Date taken from British Library Public Catalogue.
Includes "The life of Robert Burns.": p. [iii]-xvi.
"Some alterations have been made in objectionable phrases in the Poetry, they are put in small capitals"--Contents.
Includes "Index of first lines.": p. xxix-xxxii.
Plates are transfer lithographs of originally steel-engraved illustrations. All are with captions.
A different issue of another [1881] edition of this title published by Gall & Inglis. With the same setting of type but with different borders, two additional lines at the end of p. 217, an additional letter and punctuation at the end of p. 259, and a word slipped out of line on the last line of p. 306. See McLean D 0152.
MASS copy: Bound in green fine diagonal rib-grain cloth blocked in red, gold and blind in the same design as McLean D 0696. Upper cover with ogee-shaped recessed panel filled with varnished rounded papier mâché panel covered with chromolithographed floral illustration. Upper cover and spine with red cloth onlays blocked in gold with title. Upper cover blocked in red and gold with four small illustrated roundels. Boards with bevelled edges; a.e.g. Spine blocked in gold with series title: "Landscape series of poets". Upper cover blocked in red with series title: "The landscape series of poets". Spine with imprint: "Gall & Inglis". With dark brown painted endpapers.
Description from Open Library.
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