Born to a farming family in Scotland in 1759, Robert Burns is one of Scotland's most iconic poets. Known both for his representations of his native country on the page and for his willingness to fight prevailing social norms, he is considered an early member of the Romantic movement.
Burns was the oldest son of a family living in rural Alloway, Scotland. His parents, William and Agnes, were tenant farmers, and though Burns was unable to receive much formal education, he was encouraged to read the works of writers like Shakespeare. But his family life wasn't easy. Burns himself found farm labor taxing and preferred writing. His father died in 1784, in ill health because of the physical,...
