What a gift Burns had for rhyme and meter. He makes it look so easy and spontaneous. The book has lots of social commentary with poems written as open letters to his contemporaries and epitaphs for the deceased. He eulogized the living and the dead in verse. He commented on current political and religious debates in verse. This was in additional to the usual topics of life, death, and romance chronicled by all poets. There is also much in praise of the delights of love, flesh, drink, and the working class. He was a rural farmer who never forgot his roots, or, more accurately his plow and barn dances, and especially what you might do when the dancing was over.

This edition contains the nearly complete lyrical works of Scotland’s most famous poet. A few recently discovered verses and some of the more raunchy erotic lyrics, such as “Brose and Butter” are missing, but the volume is still a poetic banquet with a glossary of Scots words, and indexes by first line and title. ( )