Burns, Robert

Robert Burns was born January 25, 1759 in the village of Alloway (three kilometers south of Ayr , Ayrshire ), in the family of a peasant William Burns (William Burness, 1721-1784). In 1765, his father rented a Mount Olyphant farm, and the boy had to work alongside adults, suffering hunger and other hardships. In 1781, Burns entered the Masonic lodge; Freemasonry quite strongly influenced his work ^{[16] [17]} . Since 1783, Robert began to compose poetry in the Ayrshire dialect. In 1784, his father dies, and after a series of unsuccessful attempts to farm, Robert and his brother Gilbert move to Mossgill. In 1786, Burns's first book, Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish dialect ("Poems mainly in the Scottish dialect") was published. The initial period of creativity also includes: “John Barleycorn” (John Barleycorn, 1782), “Funny Beggars” (“The Jolly Beggars”, 1785), “Prayer of the Holy Willie” (“Holy Willie's Prayer”), “Holy Fair” (The Holy Fair, 1786). The poet quickly became known throughout Scotland ^[18] .

About the origins of Burns’s popularity , Goethe noted:

Take Burns. Is it because he is great that the old songs of his ancestors lived on the lips of the people, that they sang to them, so to speak, when he was in the cradle, that as a boy he grew up among them and was related to the high perfection of these samples that he found in them that living basis, on the basis of which, could go further? And yet, is it not because he is great that his own songs immediately found receptive ears among his people, that they then sounded towards him from the mouths of the reapers and knitters of sheaves, because they were greeted by his cheerful comrades in the pub? Here really something could happen.

- Johann Peter Eckermann. Gespräche mit Goethe in den letzten Jahren seines Lebens. Leipzig, 1827.

In 1787, Burns moved to Edinburgh and gradually integrated into the upper circles of the capital. In Edinburgh, Burns met with the promoter of Scottish folklore, James Johnson, with whom they began to publish the collection The Scott's Musical Museum. In this edition, the poet has published many Scottish ballads in his processing and his own works.

Published books bring Burns a certain income. He tried to invest the money earned by royalties in renting a farm, but only lost his small capital. The main source of livelihoods since 1791 was the work as an excise tax collector in Dumfries .

Robert Burns led a fairly free lifestyle, and he had three illegitimate daughters from casual and short-lived relationships. In 1787, he married with his longtime lover Gene Armor. In this marriage, he had five children ^[19] .

In the period 1787 - 1794 , the famous poems “Tam o'Shanter” (“Tam o'Shanter”, 1790) and “Honest Poverty” (“A Man's A Man For A 'That”, 1795), “An Ode to the Memory of Mrs. Oswald "(" Ode, sacred to the Memory of Mrs. Oswald ", 1789). In a poem dedicated to John Anderson (1789) , a thirty-year-old author unexpectedly reflects on the slope of life, on death.

In essence, Burns was forced to do poetry between his main work. He spent the last years in need and a week before his death he almost ended up in a debt prison ^[18] .

Burns died on July 21, 1796 in Dumfries, where he had already gone sick on official business 2 weeks before his death. ^[20] He was only 37 years old. Burns biographer James Curry suggested that one of the reasons for the sudden death of Burns was excessive drinking. However, 20th-century historians suggest that since James Curry himself was an activist of the sobriety society , then perhaps his point of view was not completely objective ^[21] . Modern biographers are inclined to believe that Burns died from the consequences of heavy physical labor in his youth and chronic rheumatic heart disease , which the poet suffered from childhood, and in 1796 the disease was aggravated by the transferred diphtheria ^{[22] [23]} .

The main dates of the poet's life

• January 25, 1759 - the birth of Robert Burns.
• 1765 - Robert and his brother go to school.
• 1766 - moving to Mount Olyphant farm.
• 1774 - Robert writes the first poems.
• 1777 - moving to Lohli farm.
• July 4, 1781 - consecrated to the Brotherhood of Freemasons in the box of St. David No. 174, Tarbolton.
• 1784 - the death of his father, moving to Mossgil.
• 1785 - Robert meets Gene, written "Funny Beggars", " Field Mouse " and many other poems.
• 1786 - Burns transfers ownership of the Mossgill farm to his brother; the birth of twins; a trip to Edinburgh.
• 1787 - the poet’s reception in the Grand Lodge of Scotland; the first edinburgh edition of poems comes out; trips around Scotland.
• 1789 - excise work.
• 1792 - appointment to the port inspection.
• 1793 - the second Edinburgh edition of poetry in two volumes.
• December 1795 - Burns is in serious condition, possibly related to tooth extraction.
• July 21, 1796 - death
• July 25, 1796 - the funeral, on the same day the fifth son of Burns was born - Maxwell.

Although Burns was studying in a rural school, his teacher was a man with a university education - John Murdoch (Murdoch, 1747-1824). Scotland then experienced the peak of national revival, was one of the most cultural corners of Europe, it had five universities. Under the leadership of Murdoch, Burns studied, among other things, the poetry of Alexander Pope . As the manuscripts testify, Burns was fluent in literary English (wrote on it “Saturday night of the villager”, “Sonnet to the thrush” and some other poems). The use of Scottish in most of the works ("dialects" of English, in contrast to the Gaelic - Celtic Scottish language) is the conscious choice of the poet, declared in the title of the first collection of "Poems mainly in the Scottish dialect."

Burns is associated with the special form of the stanza: the six-passage according to the AAABAB scheme with the shortened fourth and sixth lines. A similar scheme is known in medieval lyrics, in particular in Provencal poetry (from the XI century), but since the XVI century its popularity has faded. It was preserved in Scotland, where it was widely used even before Burns, but is associated with his name and is known as the “Burns stanza”, although its official name is the standard gabby , it comes from the first work that glorified this stanza in Scotland, “Elegy to Death Gabby Simpson, Piper of Kilbarkhan ”(c. 1640 ) Robert Sempill of Beltriz ; "Gabbi" is not a proper name, but the nickname of the natives of the town of Kilbarkhan in Western Scotland. This form was also used in Russian poetry, for example, in Pushkin ’s poems “Echo” and “Collapse” .

Burns's first Russian translation (prosaic) appeared already in 1800 - four years after the poet’s death, but the brochure published in 1829 on Rural Saturday Night in Scotland brought fame to Burns’s work. Freedom imitation of R. Burns I. Kozlov. " Numerous responses appeared in periodicals, and in the same year the first literary article in Russia by N. Polevoy, “On the Life and Works of R. Burns,” appeared. Subsequently, Burns was engaged in the work of V. Belinsky . In the library of A. Pushkin was a two-volume Burns. In 1831, V. Zhukovsky ’s poem “Confession of a Cambric Scarf” appeared (but was printed only 70 years later) - a free arrangement of the same “John Barley Grain”. The youthful translation of the Burns quatrain by M. Lermontov is known. T. Shevchenko defended his right to create “non-literary” (exclusively Russian as literary) Ukrainian, cited Burns as an example, who writes in the Scottish dialect of English: “But Bornz still sings the folk and great” (preface to the unfulfilled publication “ Kobzar ").

In a letter, N. Nekrasov asked I. Turgenev to send several translations of Burns in order to “translate into verses,” however, these intentions were not realized. Burns was translated by many authors, especially the interest in the work of the Scottish poet increased in connection with the centenary of the death. This made it possible to publish several collections of Russian translations, including “Robert Bournes and his works in the translation of Russian writers” by A. Suvorin from the Cheap Library series. After the Russian revolution of 1917, interest in Burns was due to the "peasant origin" of the poet. The publication of Burns' works was included in the plans of the World Literature Publishing House M. Gorky (not implemented). Burns' individual poems were translated by various poets, for example, in 1917 a translation of the poem "John Barley Grain" by K. Balmont was published, noted by all as unsuccessful.

The poetry of Robert Burns gained wide popularity in the USSR thanks to the translations of S. Ya. Marshak . Marshak first turned to Burns in 1924 , systematic translations began in the mid -1930s. , the first collection of translations came out in 1947 , and in the posthumous edition ( Robert Burns. Poems in the translations of S. Marshak. - M. , 1976 ) there are already 215 works, which is approximately two fifths of the poetic heritage of Robert Burns. Marshak's translations are far from the literal transmission of the original, but they are characterized by the simplicity and lightness of the language, emotional mood, close to Burns's lines. Korney Chukovsky in his 1964 work “ High Art ”, devoted to the theory of literary translation , highly appreciates Marshak’s creative approach and, above all, his preservation of Burns’s original poetic rhyme. In the 1940s , an article appeared in the London Times that claimed that Burns was incomprehensible to the British and had only limited regional significance. As one of the counterarguments, the article cited Burns' immense popularity in the USSR. In 1959, Marshak was elected Honorary Chairman of the Burns Federation in Scotland.

Recently, Marshak's translations are often criticized as inadequate. , and verses already translated by Marshak are also published in translations of other authors.

Burns's popularity as a whole is very high, and by now, up to ninety percent of his poetic heritage exists in Russian.

Burns and music

Initially, many of Burns' works were created as songs, were processed, or written to the melody of folk songs. Burns' poetry is simple, rhythmic, and musical; it is no coincidence that in the Russian translation many verses went to music. The creation of musical works at the time involved D. Shostakovich and G. Sviridov . A record with an audio fairy tale “Robin Hood” with songs by R. Burns translated by S. Marshak to the music of M. Karminsky (songs on it performed by G. Anisimova , K. Rumyanova , found a great popularity among the children's audience was found by the Melody company ^[24] ) . V. Tolkunova , E. Leonov , L. Leshchenko (“ In the fields under snow and rain ”), I. Kobzon and the vocal ensemble “Korobeyniki”). A. Gradsky’s repertoire includes a cycle of compositions on Burns’s poems, for example, “In the Fields Under Snow and Rain ...” ( S. Marshak’s translation of the poem “Oh Wert Thou In The Cauld Blast”). Belarusian VIA " Pesnyary " performed a series of works on the words of Burns. Moldavian rock band Zdob și Zdub performs the song “You Left Me” to Burns. The folk group The Mill put the poem The Highlander, as well as the ballad Lord Gregory, written by Burns himself to the tune The Lass of Roch Royal . The song "Happy Widower" was performed by the group " Chancellor Guy ." In the repertoire of the rock group "Tin Soldiers" (1967-1982, 1998— ...) there was a song "Ballad about John the Barley Grain", in the repertoire of the rock group " Integral " (apr. Bari Alibasova , 1967-1982) - the song " Willy ”(“ Once Willy brewed beer / He called us three to a feast / Such funny fellows / The baptismal world didn’t know yet ... ”) and the song“ I need a wife ”(better or worse, if only she were a woman, a woman without a husband ) ^[25] .

Often songs on the verses of the Scottish poet in the translation of Marshak are used in movies. Among the most popular can be noted the tango “Love and Poverty” (“Poortith Cauld And Restless Love”) from the movie “ Hello, I am your aunt!” ”Performed by Alexander Kalyagin , the song“ For The Sake O 'Somebody ”from the movie“ Office Romance ”performed by Alisa Freindlich , the song“ O my Luve's like a red, red rose ”) from the movie“ School Waltz ”performed by Olga Yaroshevskaya . Of the less well-known - "Green Dol", "Town" performed by the ensemble "Ulenspiegel."

In 2011, the Armenian rock band Bambir recorded an album on the poems of Burns and Tumanyan “Armenian Scotch” .

In 2011, Voronezh composer and rock musician Oleg KNYAZZ Pozharsky recorded a double album, “Get us an account, mistress!”, Consisting of songs and ballads to poetry by Robert Burns, translated by Samuel Marshak .

Burns in philately

In 1959, the British Post Office for the first time in history announced the release of a UK postage stamp in 1964 with a picture of a person other than the king’s monarch, Shakespeare . At the same time, according to press reports, the candidacy of the Scotsman Robert Burns was also considered, but was rejected, despite the 200th anniversary of the poet's birth. This caused a protest of his nationalist compatriots. В частности, Шотландская национальная партия отпечатала и распространяла за небольшую плату пропагандистские марки с портретом Бёрнса и надписью «Свободная Шотландия». По их задумке, марки должны были наклеиваться рядом с официальной почтовой маркой страны с портретом Шекспира.

Но гораздо большую известность получила иная акция. Проблему ущемления Роберта Бёрнса на марках Великобритании близко к сердцу восприняла мисс Венди Вуд ( Wendy Wood ), горячая поклонница его таланта и убеждённая сепаратистка . Она отпечатала на ручном прессе и стала распространять почтовые конверты с лозунгом «Если Шекспир , почему не Бёрнс?» и несколько видов собственных пропагандистских марок с целью организовать массовую спам -атаку по почте соответствующих запросов в адрес премьер-министра Великобритании , всех членов британского парламента и министра почты. При франкировке этих писем Венди Вуд использовала только свои собственные марки. Она рассуждала, что почтовое отделение либо примет отправление так, либо заставит чиновников-получателей оплатить стоимость пересылки. Общий тираж марок мисс Вуд составил около 30 тысяч экземпляров. Некоторую его часть она перфорировала на швейной машинке, но большая часть тиража осталась без перфорации.

Голос общественности был услышан: британская почта согласилась выпустить почтовую марку в память о Бёрнсе, причём даже не дожидаясь круглой даты рождения, в год 170-летия со дня смерти поэта. Удовлетворённая Венди Вуд после этого отослала начальнику королевской почты Эдинбурга печатные платы , с которых она производила тиражи своих пропагандистских марок. Об его реакции на этот жест не сообщается.

Примечательно, что версия о результативности кампании Венди Вуд не единственная. С. Я. Маршак, поклонник Бёрнса, посвятил «филателистическое стихотворение» его марке, в котором высмеял министра почт и телеграфа, отвергнувшего предложение депутатов английского парламента выпустить такую марку. ^[26] Вот что пишет Борис Стальбаум в брошюре «Что надо знать филателисту» ^[27] :

Представляется наиболее вероятным, что свою роль в продвижении идеи о срочной необходимости выпуска британским почтовым ведомством почтовой марки в память о Роберте Бёрнсе сыграли все перечисленные выше кампании, а не какая-то одна из них.

Так же, в память о Роберте Бёрнсе, государством Остров Мэн в 1996 г была выпущена серия из 4 монет. Монеты номиналом в 1 крону (25 пенсов) были из серебра 925 пробы и весом 28,28 гр и из медно-никеля.

Некоторые издания поэта на русском языке

• Бернс Р. Песни и стихи. Per. В. Федотова. — М.: Советская Россия, 1963. — 232 с., 100 000 экз.

• Бёрнс Р. В горах моё сердце: Песни, баллады, эпиграммы в пер. С. Я. Маршака / Предисл. Ю. Болдырева; грав. В. Фаворского. — М. : Детская литература, 1971. — 191 с.
• Бёрнс Р. Стихи в переводах С. Маршака / Примеч. М. Морозова; оформл. artist В. Добера. — М. : Художественная литература, 1976. — 382 с.
• Бёрнс Р. Роберт Бёрнс в переводах С. Я. Маршака : [Песни, баллады, поэмы, эпиграммы] / Сост. Р. Райт; per. С. Я. Маршак, Р. Райт; silt В. А. Фаворский. — М. : Правда, 1979. — 271 с.
• Бёрнс Р. Стихотворения: Пер. from English / Сост. С. В. Молева; per. С. Я. Маршак . — Л. : Лениздат, 1981. — 175 с. — (Школьная библиотека).
• Бёрнс Р. Стихотворения. Сборник. На англ. и русск. яз / Сост. И. М. Левидова. — М. : Радуга, 1982. — 705 с.
• Бёрнс Р. Избранное / Сост., предисл. Б. И. Колесникова. — М. : Московский рабочий, 1982. — 254 с.
• Бёрнс Р. Стихотворения и песни / Пер. from English С. Я. Маршака , В. Федотова; сост., авт. entry Art. and comment. Б. И. Колесникова; грав. В. Фаворского. — М. : Детская литература, 1987. — 175 с.
• Бёрнс Р. Джон Ячменное Зерно / Сост. А. В. Пятковская; per. Я. И. Маршак, А. В. Пятковская. — М. : Зеркало, 1998. — 223 с. — (Имена: XVIII век / Ред. и сост. Малиновская Н. Р.).
• Бёрнс Р. Собрание поэтических произведений / Вступ. статья, сост. and comment. Е. В. Витковского . — М. : Рипол Классик, 1999. — 704 с. — (Бессмертная библиотека).
• Бёрнс Р. Лирика: Стихотворения в пер. С. Я. Маршака . - M .: AST; Астрель; Олимп, 2000. — 304 с.
• Бёрнс Р. Стихотворения. Песни. Баллады. / Вступ. статья и сост. Е. В. Витковского . — М. : Мир книги; Литература, 2007. — 368 с. — 9000 экз. — ISBN 978-5-486-01489-5 .
• Бёрнс Р. Джон Ячменное Зерно: стихотворения, поэмы, песни, баллады; per. с шотл. and English. Е. Фельдмана / Е. Румянцева. — СПб., М.: Амфора; ИД Комсомольская правда, 2012. — 239 с. — (Великие поэты). — 61 164 экз. — ISBN 978-5-87107-298-1 .

Russian bibliography

• Елистратова А. Р. Бёрнс. Критико-биографический очерк. - M. , 1957.
• Райт-Ковалёва Р. Я. Роберт Бёрнс . — М. : Молодая гвардия, 1965. — 352 с. — (« Жизнь замечательных людей ». Серия биографий. Вып. 26 (276)).

• Robert Burns on Wikilivera
• Burns, Robert in the library of Maxim Moshkov
• Robert Burns Country - «official" site of Robert Burns (Eng.)
• Burns Night Festival - Robert Burns' Birthday
• Old Radio: R. Burns - Merry Beggars "(read by Sergey Jurassic)