"Holy Willie's Prayer" is a poem by

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

. It was written in 1785 and first printed anonymously in an eight-page pamphlet in 1789.Daiches, David (1952). Robert Burns. London: G. Bells It is considered the greatest of all Burns'

satirical Satire is a genre of the visual arts, visual, literature, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently Nonfiction, non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ...

poem Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

s, one of the finest satires by any poet, and a withering attack on religious hypocrisy. It is written in the Scots language, but is accessible to most modern English readers.

Analysis

The poem is an attack on the bigotry and hypocrisy of some members of the Kirk, or

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

, as told by the (fictional) self-justifying

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

of a (real) kirk elder, Willie Fisher. In his prayer, Holy Willie piously asks God's forgiveness for his own transgressions and moments later demanding that God condemn his enemies who commit the same sins to eternal hellfire. Burns used Holy Willie to argue that the

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

of the Kirk encouraged

hypocrisy Hypocrisy is the practice of feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not. The word "hypocrisy" entered the English language ''c.'' 1200 with the meaning "the sin of pretending to virtue or goodness". Today, "hypocrisy" ofte ...

. Burns believed that

John Calvin John Calvin (; ; ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French Christian theology, theologian, pastor and Protestant Reformers, reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of C ...

's doctrine of

predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby Go ...

, whether to

salvation Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...

damnation Damnation (from Latin '' damnatio'') is the concept of divine punishment after death for sins that were committed, or in some cases, good actions not done, on Earth. In Ancient Egyptian religious tradition, it was believed that citizens woul ...

, made people morally reckless. This was because their salvation was believed to rest, not on their own actions but on being assigned to the "elect" by an inscrutable God. He observed that belief in predestination had the additional tendency to make people insufferably self-righteous. It is this last tendency in particular, and the more general

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

and

moral A moral (from Latin ''morālis'') is a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event. The moral may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim. ...

sterility embodied in much of the teachings of the Kirk, that he lampoons very effectively in this work. Holy Willie's self-righteousness and judgmentalism are skillfully alternated with tales of his own womanising, boozing, and other moral transgressions. The characters are drawn from real life, with no names being changed.

The real Holy Willie

Willie Fisher was an elder of the kirk in

Mauchline Mauchline (; ) is a town and civil parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland. In the 2001 census Mauchline had a recorded population of 4,105. It is home to the National Burns Memorial. Location The town lies by the Glasgow and South Western Railway ...

. Fisher conceived a dislike for

Gavin Hamilton Gavin Hamilton may refer to: * Gavin Hamilton (archbishop of St Andrews) (died 1571), archbishop of St Andrews * Gavin Hamilton (bishop of Galloway) (1561–1612), bishop of Galloway * Gavin Hamilton (artist) (1723–1798), Scottish artist * Ga ...

, a local lawyer, landlord and the collector of stent{{explain, date=July 2020} {https://dsl.ac.uk/entry/snd/stent_n2_v2}, administering the collection of poor relief within the parish,{{Cite book, last=MacKay, first=James, year=2004, title=Burns. A Biography of Robert Burns, publisher=Alloway Publishing, isbn=0907526-85-3, page=126 who also happened to be a close friend of Burns'. Hamilton was suspected of financial impropriety when inconsistencies in the accounts were discovered. It may be (this was Hamilton's defence) that the deficit was the result of Hamilton's kindly acts in forgiving the debts of those who were unable to pay their

tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious organization or compulsory tax to government. Modern tithes are normally voluntary and paid in money, cash, cheques or v ...

s to the kirk. Fisher spied on Hamilton and added the charges of: *Travelling on the

Christian Sabbath Many Christians observe a weekly day set apart for rest and worship called a Sabbath in obedience to God's commandment to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Early Christians, at first mainly Jewish, observed the seventh-day (Saturday) S ...

. *Not reading the

Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...

on a Sunday. *Digging his garden on the Sabbath (hence{{citation needed, date=June 2018 the poem's reference to "

kail Kail () is an – a municipality belonging to a , a kind of collective municipality – in the Cochem-Zell district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It belongs to the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' of Kaisersesch. Geography Location The municipalit ...

and potatoes") Fisher's complaint against Hamilton was heard and adjudicated by the Presbytery of

Ayr Ayr ( ; ; , meaning "confluence of the River Àir"), is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. A former royal burgh, today it is the administrative centre of South Ayrshire Council, and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With ...

, as is stated in Burn's own commentary on the poem. (In the

Presbyterian polity Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance (" ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session ...

of the Church of Scotland, a presbytery is a regional council of ministers and elders. It may function as a court when complaints against members, or more likely, ministers are brought to it.) Hamilton won the case. Hence, Holy Willie complains bitterly to God not only against Hamilton himself but also against the Presbytery: :"Lord, hear my earnest cry and pray'r, :Against that Presbyt'ry o' Ayr!" Willie Fisher never recovered from the ignominy of this public defeat, and, legend has it, was found dead in a ditch with a bottle of

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of liquor made from Fermentation in food processing, fermented grain mashing, mash. Various grains (which may be Malting, malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, Maize, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky ...

. Burns' commentary appears{{citation needed, date=June 2018 in an early manuscript of the poem and is often printed with the poem in modern editions: {{cquote, Holy Willie was a rather oldish bachelor elder, in the parish of Mauchline, and much and justly famed for that polemical chattering which ends in tippling orthodoxy, and for that spiritualized bawdry which refines to liquorish devotion. In a sessional process with a gentleman in Mauchline, a Mr. Gavin Hamilton, Holy Willie and his priest, Father Auld, after a full hearing in the Presbytery of Ayr, came off but second best, owing partly to the oratorical powers of Mr. Robert Aiken, Mr. Hamilton's counsel, but chiefly to Mr. Hamilton's being one of the most irreproachable and truly respectable characters in the country. On losing his process, the muse overheard him at his devotions.

References

{{cite web , title=The 18th century > Poets and poetry after Pope > Burns , url=http://www.britannica.com/shakespeare/article-12921 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140106032628/http://www.britannica.com/shakespeare/article-12921 , archive-date=2014-01-06 , website=Encyclopedia Britannica's Guide to Shakespeare , access-date=2006-01-28 , url-status=live {{cite web , title=Fisher, William (1737–1809) , url=http://www.robertburns.org/encyclopedia/FisherWilliam17371511809.359.shtml , website=The Burns Encyclopedia , access-date=2018-06-16

External links

{{wikisource, Holy Willie's Prayer, Holy Willie's Prayer
Entry at Robertburns.orgA Recital Holly Willie's Prayer including Epitaph on Holly Willie
{{Robert Burns Poetry by Robert Burns 1785 poems Church of Scotland

Analysis

The real Holy Willie

See also

References

External links