ABSTRACT
Burmese scholars recognize some with reservations the existence of five songs or poems in Burmese literature memorable for having been composed at a critical moment in the lives of their authors. These songs have long been known and loved in Burma so much so that they have become what might be called immortal songs. This chapter presents short poem Allaying the royal anger, is in the standard type of Burmese verse, with lines of four syllables and rhymes climbing from the end towards the beginning of successive lines. It considers the immortal poem A poem written in exile by a minister and judge who served under several Burmese kings in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The chapter explains a short song called le-gyo, written in the freer and more colloquial style. This song is attributed to U Pon Nya, one of Burma's greatest literary figures.
