Update on the iBook project

1. Update on the iBook project

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4. Today’s session • The social, political and ideological background of the 18th century ‘vernacular revival’ in Scots poetry, focusing on: • Allan Ramsay (1686-1758) • Robert Fergusson (1750-1774) • Robert Burns (1759-1796)

5. Caledonia (2007) by Roger Palmer

6. Caledonia • First presented in the exhibition, Botany Bay, at Leeds Art Gallery. • Caledonia recalls a 17th Century expedition to establish a Scottish trading colony in Central America. The voyagers planned to create a lucrative trade route linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. But the project ended in failure, with considerable loss of life and financial hardship for those who invested in the scheme. • Between November 2004 and June 2006, Roger Palmer carried herbs and spices between Scotland and the Caribbean. Powdered achiote, beetroot, caramel, cloves, mint, paprika, parsley and turmeric were used to stencil the word CALEDONIA on beaches in Colombia, Cuba, Jamaica, Panama, Scotland and USA. Several of these temporary interventions were executed at sites close to where Scottish ships were lost. • In Caledonia, 32 photographs that document these interventions are projected as a continuously dissolving sequence of images, accompanied by a soundtrack made on the coastal border between Scotland and England. • http://www.rogerpalmer.info/photopgs/photogroups/caledonia.htm

7. The Darien disaster and its aftermath • 1698-1700 • Scottish settlers attempted to colonize Darien peninsula in Panama. They founded New Caledonia but were driven out by Spanish forces who felt their own interests were being threatened. It was a financial disaster for wealthier Scots. • 1707 Treaty of Union • Partly in return for the paying off of debts incurred by the Darien disaster, Scotland entered into a fiscal and parliamentary Union with England, ratified by two Acts of Union (Scotland & England). This Union was also intended to secure Scotland’s support for the new Hanoverian royal dynasty.

8. The messy end of the Stuart dynasty • 1688-9: The ‘Glorious Revolution’ replaces James II with his daughter (Mary) and son-in-law, William of Orange. Mary dies in 1694; William in 1702. • 1701: Act of Settlement in England; in 1702 Queen Anne (Charles II’s niece) is enthroned. • 1707: Treaty of Union/Act of Settlement in Scotland • 1714: Death of Anne. Accession of George I to British throne • 1715: First Jacobite uprising (James Edward Stuart) • 1745: Second Jacobite uprising (Charles Edward Stuart, aka ‘Bonnie Prince Charlie’)

9. Kings over the Water • 1707-45 • Overt or covert support for Stuart ‘pretenders’ • Lowland prosperity slowly increases • Rise of Jacobitism (followers of James Edward Stuart), particularly in the Highlands • Post-1745 • Brutal repression of Highland culture • Gaelic is banned • Wearing of the kilt & skeandhuare banned • Jacobitism (often ‘sentimental’) continues

10. Literary impacts • Rise of ‘cultural nationalism’ • Revival of interest in literature in Scots • Republishing of older texts, eg • James Watson’s Choice Collection of Comic and Serious Scots Poems both Ancient and Modern (1706-1711) • Thomas Ruddiman’s edition of Douglas’ Eneados(Æneid) in 1710 • Allan Ramsay’s The Ever Green (1724-7). • Performance of new, original songs and poems in intimate spaces of men’s clubs; local publication in broadsheet form; later collections are published.

11. Social networks • Voluntary associations of different kinds were breaking out like measles over the face of Britain and the rest of Europe at this time, especially in towns, and almost exclusively among men. There were street clubs, patronised by the leading inhabitants of a particular district, clubs devoted to hobbies, everything from rose-growing to cruel sports and idiosyncratic sex, innumerable masonic and quasi-masonic societies catering to the male delight in secret rituals and dressing up, box clubs, which poorer men joined to provide themselves with a modicum of insurance, clubs devoted to party politics or food, discussion clubs where blue-chinned autodictats pondered the mysteries of science and philosophy, and more genteel associations where responsible citizens met to dine well and discuss the local poor. • Linda Colley, Britons: The Forging of the Nation 1992; p.88

12. Allan Ramsay (1686-1758) • Resident of Edinburgh • Member of the Easy Club (1712) • Wigmaker, editor, poet & publisher • Playwright & cultural activist • Founds a library & theatre • Poems (1721) • The Gentle Shepherd (1725)

13. Minutes of the Easy Club 13 April 1715 Two poems were presented by Gawin Douglas [ie Allan Ramsay] One upon the Debate or discourse in ye club ye 16 of March about the Requisites necessary to Constitute a Gentleman.

14. Allan Ramsay Club performance > Broadsides > Book publication (by subscription) The broadside is dated c.1718; the ballad was included in Ramsay’s Poems (1721). http://digital.nls.uk/broadsides/broadside.cfm/id/15904

15. Wi well crish'dLoofs I hae been Canty; Whane'er the Lads wad fain a faun t'ye, To try the auld Game TauntyRanty, like Cursers keen, They took Advice of me your Aunty if ye was clean. With well-greased palms, I have been merry/Whenever the lads would like to fall to you/To try the old game of ‘rumpypumpy’/like stallions keen/They took advice from me, your Auntie/[To know] if you were clean.

16. Allan Ramsay: Preface to Poems (1721) I understand Horace but faintly in the Original, and yet can feast on his beautiful Thoughts dress’d in British; and do not see any great occasion for every Man’s being made capable to translate the Classicks, when they are so elegantly done to his hand.

17. Horace: Book I, Ode V, by Allan Ramsay What young raw muisted beau bred at his glass perfumed Now wilt thou on a rose’s bed carress? Whaniest to thy white breasts wilt thou intice, With hair unsnooded and without thy stays? O bonny lass, wi’ thy sweet landart air, rustic How will thy fikle humour gie him care. When’er thou takes the fling-strings, like the wind sulk That jaws the ocean, thou’lt disturb his mind. dashes

18. Horace: Book I, Ode V, by Allan Ramsay When thou looks smirky, kind and claps his cheek: To poor friends then he’l hardly look or speak. The coofbelieves’tna, but right soon he’ll find fool Thee light as cork, and wav’ring as the wind. On that slid place where I ’maist brake my bains, slippery, bones To be a warning I set up twa stains, stones That nane may venture there as I hae done, Unless wi’ frosted nails he clink his shoon. hammer, shoes

19. Robert Fergusson (1750-1774) • University-educated at St Andrews • Leaves on death of father and takes up work as a lawyer’s clerk in Edinburgh • Member of the Cape Club • Contributes to Walter Ruddiman’s Weekly Review (English > Scots) • Poems, 1773 • Dies in an insane asylum after a fall. Poems republished with additions (1776)

20. Horace, Book 1, Ode XI, by Robert Fergusson Ne’er fash your thumb what gods decree trouble yourself To be the weird o’ you or me, fate Nor deal in cantrup’s kittle cunning witchcraft’s mysterious To speir how fast your days are running. ask But patient lippen for the best, trust Nor be in dowy thought opprest, gloomy Whether we see mare winters come Than this that spits wi’ canker’d foam.

21. Horace, Book 1, Ode XI, by Robert Fergusson Now moisten weel your geyzen’dwa’sdried-out walls Wi’ couthy friends and hearty blaws; sociable Ne’er let your hope oe’rgang your days, over-reach For eild and thraldom never stays; age, servitude The day looks gash, toot aff your horn, bright, drain your cup Nor care yaestrae about the morn. give a care, tomorrow

22. Characteristics of Horace in Scots • Direct address • ‘Unforced’ use of language of speech (Scots, idiomatic turns of phrase) • Awareness of an audience that shares ‘clubbable’ interests (drink, sex, carpe diem…) • Valorization of non-metropolitan, homely values (honesty, companionship, warmth in a cold climate…)

23. Robert Burns (1759-96) • Born in Ayr, on Scottish west coast, into a farming family • Member of Tarbolton Bachelors’ Club • Wrote initially for local consumption • Published ‘Kilmarnock Edition’ of Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect’ (1786) • Became literary sensation (briefly) in Edinburgh; 2nd edition of Poems… • Contributed to song collections • Became an Excise Officer in Dumfries • Died of rheumatic fever, having fathered 12 (surviving) children

24. Burns’ range • Satire (eg ‘Holy Willie’s Prayer’) • Moral philosophy (eg ‘To a Mouse’) • Comic Narrative (eg ‘Tam O’Shanter’) • Song (eg ‘My love is like a red, red rose’; ‘Ae fond kiss’)

25. Holy Willie’s Prayer • Circulated in broadsheet & MS before eventual publication (Local > broader readership) • Satire on an ‘Auld Licht’ elder (Willie Fisher) and on the Calvinist doctrine of Justification by Faith • Uses a ‘folk’ stanza (Standard Habbie, as in ‘The Life and Death of Habbie Simpson, Piper of Kilbarchan’) that was now associated with mock elegies.

27. Holy Willie’s Prayer O Thou, who in the heavens does dwell, Who, as it pleases best Thysel', Sends ane to heaven an' ten to hell, A' for Thy glory, And no for onygude or ill They've done afore Thee! I bless and praise Thy matchless might, When thousands Thou hast left in night, That I am here afore Thy sight, For gifts an' grace A burning and a shining light To a' this place.

28. ‘To A Mouse’ • Direct address (cfHoratian odes) • Scots shifts into English for philosophical reflection • Echoes of Adam Smith’s Theory of Moral Sentiments (need for social sympathy) • Central to construction of Burns’ image as ‘ploughman poet’.

29. To a Mouse Wee, sleekit, cowran, tim'rous beastie, O, what a panic's in thy breastie! Thou need na start awa sae hasty Wi bickering brattle! I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee, Wi' murdering pattle. I'm truly sorry man's dominion Has broken Nature's social union, An' justifies that ill opinion Which makes thee startle At me, thy poor, earth born companion An' fellow mortal!

30. But Mousie, thou art no thy lane, In proving foresight may be vain: The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men Gang aft agley, An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, For promis'd joy! Still thou are blest, compared wi' me! The present only toucheth thee: But och! I backward cast my e'e, On prospects drear! An' forward, tho' I canna see, I guess an' fear!

31. ‘My love is like a red, red rose’ • Part of Burns’ contribution to PietroUrbani’sSelection of Scots Songs, harmonized and improved, and later James Johnson’s The Scots Musical Museum • Burns refashions available oral material • The lyrics are attached to traditional melodies (often by editors and not by Burns) • Variant versions exist

33. ‘Ae fond kiss’ • Original lyric • Composed for Mrs Agnes (‘Nancy’) McLehose, a middle-class lady with whom Burns had a more or less platonic relationship, largely conducted by letter (‘Clarinda’ and ‘Sylvander’) • Written towards the end of the relationship, when Mrs McLehose was about to rejoin her husband, who had migrated to Jamaica.

34. From Clarinda to Sylvander Friday morning, Jan.16 O, what a nightmare I had, my Sylvander! I’ve dreamt that our letters were uncovered and as punishment not another single one could be written. O, what a suffering not to be able to read your inspiring words, my dear! My soul was kept a prisoner inside my own body, and since it could not take flight, to end my life and set it free was the cruel solution. By Heaven! My despair went beyond the risks of having my virtue lost... I woke up in tears, longing for your arms to embrace me! And then came to my great comfort your letter, with words that made my heart soar. Still I am not quite secure and in spite of my patience, I long for more signs of your true involvement. Yes, dear Sylvander, I should confess and repeat that my heart continues to believe that your interest in me is owing to mere novelty. As soon as a fair lady enters your life and your heart, our correspondence will start to lessen until it fades into dust. Remember though, that my admiration is still yours for the entirety of my life. Farewell, dear friend! Be wise, be prudent, and be happy. CLARINDA [aka Julia Rodrigues Tinoco]

35. Sylvander to Clarinda That you would see me married is a jarring thought; I wonder what I have done to deserve such a rebuke when my mind is entranced by your refinement and friendship. In the words of the poet, “I would not wish any companion in the world but you”, Clarinda, and I immediately regret putting it down, fearing misunderstanding. I fancy knowing your thoughts on Religion –‘tis a long time until I will be able to frequent the church. I await eager for yours, bound as I am to my house. My heart yearns for it. SYLVANDER [aka Álvaro Freitas]

36. Ae fond kiss Aefond kiss, and then we sever; Aefareweel, alas, for ever! Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee, Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee! Who shall say that Fortune grieves him While the star of hope she leaves him? Me, naecheerfu' twinkle lights me, Dark despair around benights me.

37. Ae fond kiss I'll ne'er blame my partial fancy; Naethingcould resist my Nancy; But to see her was to love her, Love but her, and love for ever. Had we never loved sae kindly, Had we never loved sae blindly, Never met—or never parted, We had ne'er been broken-hearted.

38. Ae fond kiss Fare thee weel, thou first and fairest! Fare thee weel, thou best and dearest! Thinebe ilka joy and treasure, Peace, enjoyment, love, and pleasure! Aefond kiss, and then we sever! Aefareweel, alas, for ever! Deep in heart-wrung tears I'll pledge thee, Warring sighs and groans I'll wage thee!

39. Watch it on youtube… • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWzXTebD5X0 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-pQqzr3NEQ

40. Burns the monument… • http://www.winnipegrobertburns.org/user/image/014.jpg

41. Getting past the shortbread tin… “Making a monument of Burns does him disservice. A monument is stationary, acted upon rather than acting, whereas Burns'spoetry, above all else, celebrates active living.” Gilbert, Suzanne (1998) "Recovering Burns's Lyric Legacy: Teaching Burns in American Universities,"Studies in Scottish Literature: Vol. 30: Iss. 1. Available at: http://scholarcommons.sc.edu/ssl/vol30/iss1/1

42. Key issues: summary • After 1700, writers who opt to use Scots are making a choice of literary medium against a background of Standard English. • Scots is now otherwise an oral medium. Strong influence of ballads and song on modern Scots poetry. • At the beginning of the century, writers are concerned with the status of their country, its literature, and the medium of that literature. • Translation is used by Ramsay and Fergusson (and later writers) to raise the status of Scots. More broadly, pastoral and satire were key genres. • The ‘Horatian ideal’ of civilized life at a distance from the metropolis attracted earlier poets (Ramsay, Fergusson). • Burns’ later poetry broadens the range, and is influenced, too, by continental politics – the republican impulse of the French revolution.