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Description: | In this poem the Poet addresses himself to the rustic and the rich, contrasting the aims and ambitions of man with that which will ensure true contentment of the mind and the soul.
Robert Burns had just ensconsed himself in his new farm of Ellisland neighboring Glenriddel estate in Dumfriesshire where Capt Riddell lived in the mansion house, 'Friars Carse'. Nearby was a secluded monks hermitage to which the Captain gave Robert a key and it was here that he wrote this poem in June 1788. It may be he was thinking of his ruinous bargain and consequential lifestyle comparing it to the rich trappings of his recent stay in Edinburgh, where he was entertained and lauded as Caledonia's Bard but now had become the 'Beggar of Nithsdale'.
In this first page Burns addresses men of high or low degree. Telling them to think on his words, life is short accept that. There will be good times and bad. Contentment is more important than happieness, just as peace is preferable to ambition, fame or transient pleasures. Those who seek solitude should look to nature for a solution. | License: | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0 | Publisher: | Burns Monument Trust | Temporal: | 1788-01-01 - 1788-12-31 | Source: | Burns Scotland | Identifier: | Poem by Robert Burns: 'Verses written in | Go to resource |
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