Overcoming Exclusive Continental Literary Traditions

At the beginning of the eighteenth century, many people considered Scotland to have no great literary tradition when compared to continental Europe’s cultural legacy extending from antiquity. As writers began to look beyond classical forms, however, many people reconsidered the cultural value of old Scottish tales preserved primarily through song. The embodiment of cultural primitivism, Robert Burns reinvigorated Scottish nationalism by defining the country’s history in passionate and simple terms. In “John Barleycorn. A Ballad,” Burns legitimizes the literary value of what is essentially a drinking song through the use of form, meter, and rhyme. Illustrating his proclivity for the poetic, Burns follows a strict ABCB rhyme scheme within his 15 stanzas. To highlight the complicated consequences of drinking, the poet diverges from this rhyme pattern only once by not fulfilling the rhyme of “joy,” choosing instead “eye” (54-56). Following the traditions of continental literature, Burns uses personification and alliteration but also preserves the colloquial diction, such as in the line, “Then ty’d him fast upon a cart” (27). By juxtaposing traditional techniques with native Scottish content, Burns validates the literary value of common song while remaining true to the original vitality fueling this ditty—pride in “old Scotland.”