| Burns, Robert 1759-1796. Scottish poet considered the major poetic voice of his nation. His lyrics, written in dialect and infused with humor, celebrate love, patriotism, and rustic life. Burns'i·an adj. |
An eighteenth-century Scottish poet known for his poems in Scottish dialect, such as “To a Mouse,” “A Red, Red Rose,” and “Auld Lang Syne.”
Note: Many lines from Burns's poetry have become proverbial: “The best-laid schemes of mice and men / Gang aft a-gley” (often go astray), “A man's a man for a' [all] that.”