Post #13: Robert Burns Required Materials

Robert Burns Supper

Individual Paragraph:

Moving away from his bitter and contemptuous review of society, the narrator's tone becomes passionate and protective as he shifts to address his daughter. The narrator builds his character as a loving, doting father, referring to his daughter as "my bonny" (ll. 13, 19) and promising her that she's no worse off than if she had been legitimate, as he will still love her "as near and dear [to] my hear" (l. 21). He seals this proclamation by his faith and promises to guide her through whatever hatred and taunts the world can produce, reassuring her that even the priests have seen him helping "out o' Hell" (l. 24). The narrator seemingly embraces being a "fornicator" (l. 7) and upholds that even if his daughter was "unsought for" (l. 14) and he had to endure much hardship just to keep her, he believes his daughter to be worth the fight and that she was "no unwrought for" (l.11) in his love. However, as loving as he addresses his daughter, his tone still holds the unhappiness that he feels from society, and we see him begin to lose his composure towards society, changing from a more refined, feminine rhyme to an intensified, masculine rhyme that shows the narrator's bitter thoughts towards society for attempting to punish his daughter for his mistakes, and his determination to reverse society's judgment of his daughter by surrounding her with love instead.

Group Thesis:

In “A Poet’s Welcome to his Love-Begotten Daughter” by Robert Burns, the narrator comforts his daughter with affection and love. Because of the society’s accusations against the narrator of foolishly chasing after women, the narrator wishes to assure his daughter that she carries no fault. Through the perspective of a narrator who carries many faults, Burns uses rhyming couplets and romantic imagery to argue that the opinions of others cannot surpass a father’s love for his daughter.

Group Comparison/Contrast:

UNIVERSAL THEME: Parent-Child Relationships

	“A Poet’s Welcome to His Love-Begotten Daughter”	The Scarlet Letter
The physical comfort of a parent holding a baby	“Wee image o' my bonie Betty, As fatherly I kiss and daut thee, As dear, and near my heart I set thee” (Burns ll. 19-21)	“When the young woman--the mother of this child--stood fully revealed before the crowd, it seemed to be her first impulse to clasp the infant closely to her bosom” (Hawthorne 43)
Emotional burdens of the parent	“Tho' now they ca' me fornicator,   An' tease my name in kintry clatter,   The mair they talk, I'm kent the better,   E'en let them clash” (Burns ll. 7-10)   “I'll never rue my trouble wi' thee,   The cost nor shame o't” (Burns ll. 45-46)	“Of an impulsive and passionate nature, she had fortified herself to encounter the stings and venomous stabs of public contumely, wreaking itself in every variety of insult” (Hawthorne 46)
Parents’ religious views on their children	“Lord grant that thou may aye inherit Thy mither's person, grace, an' merit, An' thy poor, worthless daddy's spirit, Without his failins,” (Burns ll. 37 - 40)	“‘God gave her into my keeping,’ repeated Hester Prynne, raising her voice almost to a shriek. ‘I will not give her up!’—And here, by sudden impulse, she turned to the young clergyman, Mr. Dimmesdale, at whom, up to this moment, she had seemed hardly so much as once to direct her eyes.” (Hawthorne 84)
Providing children with the finest that the parent can work for	“Tho I should be the waur bestead, Thou's be as braw and bienly clad, And thy young years as nicely bred    Wi' education, As ony brat o' wedlock's bed,    In a' thy station.” (Burns ll. 31-36)	“Hester sought not to acquire anything beyond a subsistence, of the plainest and most ascetic description, for herself, and a simple abundance for her child. …  The child’s attire, on the other hand, was distinguished by a fanciful, or, we might say, a fantastic ingenuity, which served, indeed, to heighten the airy charm that early began to develop itself in the little girl, but which appeared to have also a deeper meaning.” (Hawthorne 55)

Both the poet and Hester Prynne carry a common burden: the sin of committing adultery. The poet chooses to ignore what society accuses him of, while Hester chooses to face the insults head on; however, the internal pain that they feel is constantly present. The poet says that there was a “cost” and “shame” (l. 46) involved in begetting his daughter. Hester faced insults that felt like “venomous stabs” (Hawthorne 46). To remedy the pain, both the poet and Hester rely on their children. As the poet expresses his wish to “kiss and daut” (l. 20) his daughter and show her all the fatherly love he has, we see how this moment provides peace and happiness for him, as it is only him and his daughter with no one else to criticize their relationship. And Hester stood on the scaffold and “[clasped] her infant closely” (Hawthorne 43) to her chest to hide the scarlet letter, she felt the comfort in feeling someone else’s warmth that reminded her that she did not have to face the harsh accusations of society alone. Parents express their love to their children, and the innocence their children provide help alleviate the sinful parents’ emotional burdens.

Parents also wish their children to live a life full of blessings. The poet incorporates his religious beliefs and calls on the “Lord” (l. 37) to bless his daughter with the best traits possible. Similarly, Hester views Pearl as a blessing from God as she says, “‘God gave her into my keeping’” (Hawthorne 84). Hester clearly values Pearl greatly, naming her after an object of such great value as a pearl, and Hester is willing to raise the child because she believes that she can raise Pearl much better than anyone else can. Although the poet may have lived in a society where the rules for maintaining morals were not as strict as Hester’s society, both parents still faced the deep, emotional pain of being accused as sinful, and they chose to seek happiness through their children, who are able to live innocently and fulfill what the parents could not. In their search, each parent found their joy in spending their time giving their children the finest they could work for, from Hester’s intricate embroideries on Pearl’s clothing that provided “a simple abundance for her child” (Hawthorne 55) to the poet promising his daughter that she would be raised “braw and bienly clad” (l. 32), nicely bred Wi’ education” (ll. 33-34), and that he would help her secure a “wedlock’s bed” (ll. 35). Recognizing that they only had so little things in life that were valuable, both the poet and Hester fixate on their children as their most prized possessions, putting every bit of their effort into them in order to give them a better chance to belong in the cruel world’s that have already shut their parents out.