"Halloween" is a poem written by the Scottish poet

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

in 1785. First published in 1786, the poem is included in the '' Kilmarnock Edition''. It is one of Burns' longer poems, with twenty-eight stanzas, and employs a mixture of Scots and English.Robert Burns, Alexander Smit
Poems, songs, and letters: being the complete works of Robert Burns, edited from the best printed and manuscript authorities with glossarial index and a biographical memoir
Macmillan and co., 1868

Background

The poet

John Mayne John Mayne (1759–1836) was a Scottish printer, journalist and poet born in Dumfries. In 1780, his poem ''The Siller Gun'' appeared in its original form in ''Ruddiman's Magazine'', published by Walter Ruddiman in Edinburgh.

from

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

, a comparatively obscure follower of the Scottish Muses, had attempted a poem on the subject of

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. It begins the observanc ...

in 1780. Having twelve stanzas, the poem makes note of pranks at Halloween; ''"What fearfu' pranks ensue!"'', as well as the supernatural associated with the night, ''"Bogies"'' (ghosts). The poem appeared in ''Ruddimans Weekly Magazine'', November 1780, published by

Walter Ruddiman Walter Ruddiman (1719 – 6 June 1781) was a Scottish printer, publisher and newspaper proprietor based in Edinburgh. Born in Alvah, near Banff, in the North-East of Scotland, he was the youngest son of the farmer James Ruddiman (c. 1680 – c. ...

in Edinburgh. That the

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

poet Burns actually saw and was influenced by Mayne's composition is apparent, as he appears to communicate with Mayne's work, and also echoes some of his imagery.Robert Chamber
The life and works of Robert Burns, Volume 1
Lippincott, Grambo & co., 1854 According to Burns, Halloween is "thought to be a night when witches, devils, and other mischief-making beings are all abroad on their baneful midnight errands". Charles Knight (1833
The Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, Volume 1
p.342. Retrieved January 14, 2011

Notes

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Halloween (Burns Poem) 1785 poems Poetry by Robert Burns Narrative poems Halloween fiction 1786 in Scotland