Robert Burns

Writer Alan Bissett explores the complex brain of Robert Burns in a quest to discover the real man behind the myths and reveal the conflicts in his life and work. Burns was a poetic genius, but full of contradictions. He was a lover of women, and an exploiter of them; a Republican firebrand, and a social-climbing government excise man; an advocate of freedom who almost became a Caribbean slave master. Alan examines the groundbreaking research that suggests that the poet suffered from bi-polar disorder, a condition that led him to have severe mood swings.

Writer Andrew O'Hagan asks what made Robert Burns one of the world's favourite poets, as Scotland celebrates the 250th anniversary of the birth of one of its most famous sons. He travels through the landscape of modern Scotland in a poetic journey to the places that inspired Burns and to discover the story of his wild and dramatic life.

Scottish poet Robert Burns’ works are known and loved wherever the English language is read. Burns touched with his own genius the traditional folk songs of Scotland, transmuting them into great poetry, and he immortalized its countryside and humble farm life. He was a keen and discerning satirist who reserved his sharpest barbs for sham, hypocrisy, and cruelty. His satirical verse, once little appreciated, has in recent decades been recognized widely as his finest work. He was also a master of the verse-narrative technique, as exemplified in Tam O’Shanter. His love songs, perfectly fitted to the tunes for which he wrote them, are, at their best, unsurpassed.

Welcome to the extraordinary world of Robert Burns, Scotland's National Poet. Presented by Iain Cuthbertson, this unique video tells the story of the tortured genius whose poverty and passion gave birth to some of literature's greatest works.