ABSTRACT
Robert Burns has been long accorded the status of a mythical hero, an apostle of liberty and equality, the 'giant Original Man' of Thomas Carlyle's 'The Hero as Man of Letters' in Lecture V, On Heroes, Hero-Worship & the Heroic in History. The most striking aspect of Burns’ character is his independence. This is the point of contact between the myth of Burns and his gift. The myth is fed by colourful background and salty incident. The instinctively democratic strain in Burns’ character links his love to his satire. The lover exercises his natural right to negotiate freely for himself regardless of church or social pressure. Even before his encounter with Robert Fergusson's poems Burns learned to use Scots confidently. Burns is referring to the Confession of Faith approved by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1647 which was read and memorized throughout Scottish schools and homes along with the Shorter and Larger Catechisms.
