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Allan Ramsay

Portrait by William Aikman (1682—1731)[1]
Born October 15, 1686 (1686-10-15)
Leadhills, Lanarkshire, Scotland
Died January 7, 1758 (aged 71)
Occupation poet
Nationality Scottish

Allan Ramsay (October 15, 1686—January 7, 1758) was a Scottish poet. Events 533 - Byzantine General Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Leadhills is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, 5¾ miles WSW of Elvanfoot. Lanarkshire ( Siorrachd Lannraig in Gaelic) officially the County of Lanark, was formerly a county of Scotland. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Events 1325 - Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal. 1558 - France takes Calais, the last continental Year 1758 ( MDCCLVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. Nationality is a relationship between a Person and their State of Origin, Culture, association Affiliation and/or Loyalty Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Events 533 - Byzantine General Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Events 1325 - Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal. 1558 - France takes Calais, the last continental Year 1758 ( MDCCLVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. A poet is a person who writes Poetry. Etymology From the Ancient greek: ποιέω, poieō: "I make or compose"

Contents

Life and career

Allan Ramsay was born at Leadhills, Lanarkshire to John Ramsay, superintendent of Lord Hopetoun's lead-mines and his wife, Alice Bower, a native of Derbyshire. Leadhills is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, 5¾ miles WSW of Elvanfoot. Lanarkshire ( Siorrachd Lannraig in Gaelic) officially the County of Lanark, was formerly a county of Scotland. Marquess of Linlithgow, in the County of Linlithgow or West Lothian is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Characteristics Lead has a dull luster and is a dense, Ductile, very soft highly History The area that is now Derbyshire was first visited probably briefly by humans 200000 years ago during the Aveley Interglacial as evidenced by a Middle He was educated at the parish school of Crawford, and in 1701 was apprenticed to a wig-maker in Edinburgh. A wig is a head of Hair made from horse-hair human hair wool feathers buffalo hair or synthetic worn on the head for fashion or various other aesthetic and stylistic Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(ərə Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow. He married Christian Ross in 1712; a few years after he had established himself as a wig-maker (not as a barber, as has been often said) in the High Street, and soon found himself in comfortable circumstances. They had six children. His eldest child was Allan Ramsay, the portrait painter. Allan Ramsay (13 October 1713 &ndash 10 August 1784 was a Scottish portrait- painter.

Ramsay's first efforts in verse-making were inspired by the meetings of the Easy Club (founded in 1712), of which he was an original member; and in 1715 he became the Club Laureate. In the society of the members he assumed the name of "Isaac Bickerstaff," and later of "Gawin Douglas," the latter partly in memory of his maternal grandfather Douglas of Muthill (Perthshire), and partly to give point to his boast that he was a "poet sprung from a Douglas loin. Muthill is a village in Perth and Kinross, Perthshire, Scotland Perthshire ( Siorrachd Pheairt in Gaelic) officially the County of Perth, is a Registration county in central Scotland. " The choice of the two names has some significance, when we consider his later literary life as the associate of the Queen Anne poets and as a collector of old Lowland Scots poetry. Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714 became Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland on 8 March 1702 succeeding William III of England and II of Scots ( The Scots leid) refers to Anglic varieties derived from early northern Middle English spoken in parts of Scotland and Northern

By 1718 he had made some reputation as a writer of occasional verse, which he published in broadsheets, and then (or a year earlier) he turned bookseller in the premises where he had hitherto plied his craft of wig-making. Year 1718 ( MDCCXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a In 1716 he had published a rough transcript of Christ's Kirk on the Green from the Bannatyne manuscript, with some additions of his own. The Bannatyne Club was founded by Sir Walter Scott to print rare works of Scottish interest whether in history poetry or general literature In 1718 he republished the piece with more supplementary verses. Year 1718 ( MDCCXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a In the following year he printed a collection of Scots Songs. The success of these ventures prompted him to collect his poems in 1722. The volume was issued by subscription, and brought in the sum of four hundred guineas. Four years later he removed to another shop, in the neighbouring Luckenbooths, where he opened a circulating library (the first in Scotland) and extended his business as a bookseller. [2]

Between the publication of the collected edition of his poems and his settling down in the Luckenbooths, he had published a few shorter poems and had issued the first instalments of The Tea-Table Miscellany and The Ever Green (both 1724-1727). The Tea-Table Miscellany is "A Collection of Choice Songs Scots and English," containing some of Ramsay's own, some by his friends, several well-known ballads and songs, and some Caroline verse. Its title was suggested by the programme of The Spectator: and the compiler claimed the place for his songs "e'en while the tea's fill'd reeking round," which Addison sought for his speculations at the hour set apart " for tea and bread and butter. The Spectator was a daily publication of 1711 &ndash 12, founded by Joseph Addison and Richard Steele in England after they met at "

In The Ever Green, being a Collection of Scots Poems wrote by the Ingenious before 1600, Ramsay had another purpose, to reawaken an interest in the older national literature. Nearly all the pieces were taken from the Bannatyne manuscript, though they are by no means verbatim copies. They included his version of Christ's Kirk and a remarkable pastiche by the editor entitled the Vision. While engaged on these two series, he produced, in 1725, his dramatic pastoral The Gentle Shepherd. In the volume of poems published in 1722 Ramsay had shown his bent to this genre, especially in "Patie and Roger," which supplies two of the dramatis personae to his greater work. The success of the drama was remarkable. It passed through several editions, and was performed at the theatre in Edinburgh; its title is still known in every corner of Scotland, even if it be no longer read.

Ramsay wrote little afterwards, though he published a few shorter poems, and new editions of his earlier work. A complete edition of his Poems appeared in London n 1731 and in Dublin in 1733. With a touch of vanity he expressed the fear lest "the coolness of fancy that attends advanced years should make me risk the reputation I had acquired. " He was already on terms of intimacy with the eading men of letters in Scotland and England. He corresponded with William Hamilton of Bangour, William Somervile, John Gay and Alexander Pope. William Hamilton (1704 Ecclesmachan, West Lothian, Scotland - 1754 Lyon, France) was a Scottish Poet William Somervile or Somerville ( September 2, 1675 - July 19, 1742) was an English Poet. John Gay ( 30 June, 1685 - 4 December, 1732) was an English Poet and Dramatist. Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 – 30 May 1744 is generally regarded as the greatest English Poet of the eighteenth century best known for his Satirical Gay visited him in Edinburgh, and Pope praised his pastoral--compliments which were undoubtedly responsible for some of Ramsay's unhappy poetic ventures seyond his Scots vernacular. Vernacular refers to the Native language of a country or a locality The poet had for many years been a warm supporter of the stage. Some of his prologues and epilogues were written for the London theatres. In 1736 he set about the erection of a new theatre, "at vast expense," in Carrubber's Close, Edinburgh; but the opposition was too strong, and the new house was closed in 1737. In 1755 he retired from his shop to the house on the slope of the Castle Rock, still known as Ramsay Lodge. In this house, called by his friends "the goose-pie," because of its octagonal shape. [3]

He is buried at Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh. Greyfriars_signjpg|thumb|right|250px|A sign at the entrance giving a brief history of the Kirkyard and its inhabitants]] Greyfriars Kirkyard is the Graveyard surrounding Edinburgh ( ˈɛdɪnb(ərə Dùn Èideann) is the Capital of Scotland and is its second largest city after Glasgow.

Work

Ramsay's importance in literary history is twofold. As a pastoral writer ("in some respects the best in the world," according to James Henry Leigh Hunt) he contributed, at an early stage, to the naturalistic reaction of the 18th century. James Henry Leigh Hunt ( October 19, 1784 &ndash August 28, 1859) was an English critic essayist poet and writer His Gentle Shepherd, by its directness of impression and its appreciation of country life, anticipates the attitude of the school which broke with neo-classical tradition. It has the "mixed" faults which make the greater poem of his Scots successor, Thomson, a " transitional " document, but these give it an historical, if not an individual, interest. His chief place is, however, as an editor. He is the connecting-link between the greater "Makars" of the 15th and 16th centuries, and Robert Fergusson and Robert Burns. A makar is a term from Scottish literature for a Poet or Bard, often thought of as royal court poet although the term can be more generally For other uses see Bob Ferguson Robert Fergusson ( September 5, 1750 - October 16, 1774) Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796 (also known as Rabbie Burns, Scotland's favourite son, the Ploughman Poet, the Bard of Ayrshire [4] He revived the interest in vernacular literature, and directly inspired the genius of his greater successors. Vernacular literature is Literature written in the Vernacular - the speech of the "common people" The preface to his Ever Green is a protest against "imported trimming" and "foreign embroidery in our writings," and a plea for a return to simple Scottish tradition. He had no scholarly interest in the past, and he never hesitated to transform the texts when he could give contemporary " point " to a poem; but his instinct was good, and he did much to stimulate an ignorant public to fresh enjoyment. In this respect, too, he anticipates the reaction in England which followed securely on the publication of Percy's Reliques. The Reliques of Ancient English Poetry (sometimes known as Reliques of Ancient Poetry or simply Percy's Reliques) is a collection of Ballads and

The Tea-Table Miscellany was reprinted in 1871 (2 vols. , Glasgow; John Crum); The Ever Green in 1875 (2 vols. , Glasgow; Robert Forrester); The Poems of Allan Ramsay in 1877 (2 vols. , Paisley; Alex. Gardner). These volumes are uniform in size and binding, though issued by different publishers. A selection of the Poems appeared in 1887 (1 vol. 16mo, London; Walter Scott). There are many popular reprints of The Gentle Shepherd.

Books

Footnotes

  1. ^ Ramsay's friend, Sir John Clerk of Penicuik, owned Aikman's portrait of Ramsay, in imitation of whose verse he had written on the back of the canvas:
    Here painted on this canvas clout
    by Aikman's hand is Ramsay's snout    [1]
  2. ^ Scottish Book Trade Index
  3. ^ Chambers, Robert. Traditions of Edinburgh 1825, pages 105-108
  4. ^ Poetry Foundation article Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)

References

External links


Persondata
NAME Ramsay, Allan
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Scottish poet
DATE OF BIRTH October 15, 1686
PLACE OF BIRTH Leadhills, Lanarkshire, Scotland
DATE OF DEATH January 7, 1758
PLACE OF DEATH
Events 533 - Byzantine General Belisarius makes his formal entry into Carthage, having conquered it from the Leadhills is a village in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, 5¾ miles WSW of Elvanfoot. Lanarkshire ( Siorrachd Lannraig in Gaelic) officially the County of Lanark, was formerly a county of Scotland. Scotland ( Gaelic: Alba) is a Country in northwest Europethat occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Events 1325 - Alfonso IV becomes King of Portugal. 1558 - France takes Calais, the last continental Year 1758 ( MDCCLVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
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