To the Shade of Burns

Charlotte Smith's To the Shade of Burns

Charlotte Smith's poem To the Shade of Burns is a poignant elegy to the spirit of Robert Burns, the celebrated Scottish poet. Written in the late 18th or early 19th century, Smith’s tribute is marked by an acute awareness of Burns’s struggles and his enduring commitment to liberty, creativity, and authenticity despite his humble circumstances. This analysis examines the poem's structure, themes, literary devices, and its historical and biographical contexts.

Introduction

Charlotte Smith’s poem is both a lament and a celebration of Burns’s life and legacy. As a Romantic poet herself, Smith resonates with the values Burns embodied: a love for nature, a resistance to societal corruption, and an artistic integrity that transcended his station in life. The poem’s sonnet form underscores her reverence for Burns, combining the tight structure of traditional English poetry with the emotive and reflective qualities of Romanticism.

Structure and Form

The poem is a Shakespearean sonnet, composed of 14 lines with an ABABCDCDEFEFGG rhyme scheme. This form allows Smith to develop a logical progression: from describing Burns’s artistic power (lines 1–4), to lamenting his hardships and unsuitability for an era dominated by flattery and servility (lines 5–12), and concluding with a transcendental vision of his spirit (lines 13–14). The sonnet’s volta occurs in line 9, where the tone shifts from an admiring description of Burns’s character to a critique of contemporary society.

Themes

1. The Power of Nature and Genius

Smith invokes the image of Burns as a "Bard sublime" who was nurtured by Scotland’s "mountain solitude" (line 2). This suggests a Romantic view of Burns’s poetic inspiration as stemming directly from his intimate relationship with nature. The phrase "build the lofty rhyme" (line 3), borrowed from Milton, elevates Burns’s art to a divine act, suggesting that his creativity transcended human limitations.

2. Struggle Against Adversity

Burns’s resilience is central to Smith’s depiction. Despite the “daily pressure, rude, / Of laboring Poverty” (lines 4–5), Burns’s "generous blood" and "love of freedom" remained undiminished. This theme reflects the Romantic ideal of the artist as a figure who endures personal suffering while remaining committed to higher ideals.

3. Critique of Contemporary Society

Smith’s denunciation of "the abject chime / Of echoing Parasite" (lines 9–10) reflects her dissatisfaction with an era in which sycophancy and mediocrity are rewarded. Burns, who stood for authenticity and independence, is implicitly contrasted with the shallow conformity of Smith’s own time.

4. Immortality and Freedom

In the final couplet, Smith envisions Burns as joining the "illustrious dead," finding eternal "Liberty" among those who, like him, lived and died for noble ideals. This transcendental conclusion aligns with the Romantic belief in the enduring power of the human spirit.

Literary Devices

1. Imagery

Smith employs vivid imagery to underscore Burns’s genius and struggles. The “wild harp” (line 1) symbolizes both Burns’s untamed creativity and his silenced voice in death. The "daily pressure, rude, / Of laboring Poverty" conveys the harshness of his circumstances.

2. Allusion

The phrase “build the lofty rhyme” alludes to Milton’s Lycidas, aligning Burns with the tradition of great poets who created timeless works despite personal hardship.

3. Juxtaposition

Smith contrasts Burns’s noble spirit with the “echoing Parasite” of contemporary society. This opposition underscores her critique of a world that failed to appreciate or support genuine artistic talent.

4. Personification

Burns’s "noble Spirit" is personified as "fled" (line 11), suggesting an active rejection of the unworthy society Smith describes. This reinforces her vision of Burns as an enduring moral and creative force.

5. Rhetorical Question

Although not explicitly framed as a question, the poem’s implicit inquiry—what does society value, and what does it reject?—creates a reflective, critical tone.

Historical and Biographical Context

Robert Burns (1759–1796) was a Scottish poet whose works celebrated the common people and critiqued social hierarchies. Smith, a contemporary of Burns, shared his Romantic sensibilities and would have been acutely aware of his struggles with poverty and his untimely death. Her lament for Burns’s fate echoes her own frustrations with the artistic constraints of her era, as she too faced economic difficulties and societal indifference.

Smith’s critique of “echoing Parasite[s]” reflects a broader Romantic disdain for the commercialism and moral decay of late 18th-century society. Her vision of Burns enjoying eternal liberty suggests a belief in the redemptive power of art and the immortality of the artist’s spirit.

Conclusion

Charlotte Smith’s To the Shade of Burns is both a tribute to the enduring legacy of Robert Burns and a critique of the societal values that stifled him. Through its eloquent sonnet form, rich imagery, and impassioned tone, the poem celebrates Burns’s artistic and moral integrity while lamenting the failure of his society to support such a spirit. In envisioning Burns’s ultimate freedom among the “illustrious dead,” Smith affirms the Romantic ideal that true greatness transcends the limitations of time, poverty, and mortality.