In Series two of Burns Banter I am taking a look at the life of Robert Burns. Each episode will look at one part of Robert's Life - as this is episode one, I am looking at the Birth Of Robert Burns. I also take a look at William Burnes, (Robert's Father), and Agnes Broun, (Robert's Mother). where did they come from, what were they like, what influence did they have on Robert? I look briefly at what was happening in Scotland at the time - all of these aspects helped to make Robert into the man we know today. Unfortunately there are no songs or poems in this episode. This is due to the fact that the episode finishes when Robert is only seven years old, he hasn't written anything yet. Check out episode two for Robert's first poem....

The Rights of Women was written by Robert Burns in 1792.

Back in the days of Burns women didn't have many rights. The subject of women's rights was highly unpopular and very rarely talked about. Robert is being a bit of a rebel writing this poem, but he did love women and he was in favour of women's rights. It was written for a specific benefit night which was held at the Dumfries theatre on the 26th of November 1792. The benefit night was hosted by an actress called 'Louisa Fontenelle',

Address to the Toothache, written in 1786.

In the late 1700's dentistry didn't really exist. If you got the toothache you had to just deal with the pain, there was no pain relief. If things got really bad you would have to find someone willing to pull your teeth out. Probably a barber / surgeon.

Robert put all of his pain into this poem. You can almost feel the pain and misery of the ongoing toothache as you make your way through the verses.

Enjoy!