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Description: | Moore had received a copy of the Kilmarnock edition of Burns's poems from Mrs Dunlop in 1786 which started an ongoing correspondence of which this letter is but one. In it Moore advises the Poet to write more in English and less in Scots to widen his readership and learn more ancient and English history.
Moore further suggests that Burns should attempt a longer work and explains how he should go about the planning of it. Avoiding the temptation to start straight in but to map out the structure before starting and to read a few more poets work before he continues.
In page two Moore launches into a schoolmasterish critique of Burns's style, recommending that he follows a particular form which he believes he is best at. He then goes on to praise 'the Vision' and 'Cotters Saturday Night' for their fine imagery and other attributes. Observing that Burns has a good command of English he suggests that he should use it more and avoid the vernacular to give his work wider access to persons of taste. | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0 | Publisher: | Burns Monument Trust | Temporal: | 1787-01-01 - 1787-12-31 | Source: | Burns Scotland | Identifier: | Letter of Dr John Moore to Robert Burns | Go to resource |
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