Robert Fergusson Critical Essay | Critical Essay by A. M. Kinghorn

Critical Essay by A. M. Kinghorn

SOURCE: "Watson's Choice, Ramsay's Voice and a Flash of Fergusson," in Scottish Literary Journal, Vol. 19, No. 2, November, 1992, pp. 5-23.

In the following excerpt, Kinghorn praises Fergusson's use of language, and asserts that the poet's critical reception was impeded during his lifetime by widespread prejudice against the Scots vernacular.

In comparison [with the poet Allan Ramsay], Fergusson was neglected, though with him and through him literary Scots assumed a comparatively stable form, the more familiar 'Lallans' used by Burns and his imitators. Analysis shows that it was rooted chiefly in the vernacular of Edinburgh with some additions from older Scots and owning considerable freedom to adopt or reject dialect or anglicised elements according to the demands of rhyme or context. Though loosely referred to as a dialect, 'literary convention' is a better description of this Burnsian compromise, a legacy from Ramsay and Fergusson.

Initially, anti-English politics had helped...
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