"Robert Burns is more than Scotland's national poet. With Shakespeare, Burns is an icon for the UK and Scotland he is a national symbol. This volume of poems and songs is a best selling, beautiful edition of his work."--Publisher description.

Born in 1759 into miserable rustic poverty, by the age of 18 Burns had acquired a good knowledge of both classical and English literature. This collection includes some of his most famous works such as the ballad "Auld Lang Syne", and "Tam o'Shanter".

This volume offers Burns's work as it was first encountered by contemporary readers, presenting the texts in the contexts in which they were originally published. It includes the whole of Poems, chiefly in the Scottish Dialect (1786), a generous selection of songs with full scores, comprehensive notes, some important letters and a glossary.