The Ploughman Poet and Bard of Ayrshire, Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and lyricist who lived from January 25, 1759 to  July 21, 1796.  Although celebrated worldwide, Burns is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is renown for writing in a Scotch dialect.  He was a leader in the founding of the Romantic movement.  From this, he is also seen as an inspiration to both liberalism and socialism as well

Burns wrote a number of original compositions as well as collecting and popularizing a number of folk songs from across Scotland.  Among the folk songs adapted by him are Auld Lang Syne and Scots Wha Hae.  The latter of which served as an unofficial national anthem of Scotland.

Burns is well known  for his own special touch to poetry.  Among the poems that remain quite popular today are A Red, Red Rose; A Man’s A Man For A’ That; To A Louse; To A Mouse; The Battle of Sherramuir; Tam O’Shanter and Ae Fond Kiss.  Today, on the anniversary of his date of death, we will look at his famous satirical poem, Holy Willie’s Prayer.

Written in 1785, Holy Willie’s Prayer is a withering attack on religious hypocrisy.  As with many good tales, there are several elements of truth within this poem.  The essential elements of this poem amount to a sanctimonious elder of the Kirk (Church) offering up a prayer that throughout the poem alternates between justifying his own transgressions while asking that God harshly judge his fellow transgressors without mercy.  The attempt is made to demonstrate through this poem that the Calvinistic underpinnings of the Kirk itself were equally hypocritical.

Holy Willie’s Prayer can be read in its entirety here:

http://www.bartleby.com/6/57.html

Or heard in its audiobook format here: