Athenaeum Press Series. Selections from the Poems of Robert Burns

Selections from the poems of Robert Burns – is a book, which was published in 1898 and edited with Introduction, Notes, and Vocabulary by John G. Dow, M.A. Late Instructor in English in the University of Wisconsin. Robert Burns was an 18th century Scottish poet, folklorist, author of numerous poems and poems written in Plain (Germanic) Scots and English. The present volume has been conceived by the editor to provide such a selection of Burns' poems as should, in moderation, fully illustrate the character and scope of his genius. In the introduction, Professor Dow first of all wanted to consider Burns as a poet, and accordingly, after a brief biographical sketch, he moved on to a purely literary discourse. The reader will find a chapter on Burns' obligations to his predecessors, another on his relationship to nature, and so on. However, he does not detect a trace of that predilection for moral reasoning, which too often distracted critics from more immediate issues. Sections on language, notes, and a glossary will give the reader all the help they need to make the poems fully intelligible.