Post #13: Robert Burns Required Materials

Individual Paragraph

Is there that over his French ragout,
Or olio that would sicken a sow,
Or fricassee would make her throw-up
With perfect disgust,
Looks down with sneering, scornful view
On such a dinner?

Poor devil! see him over his trash,
As feeble as a withered rush,
His thin legs a good whip-lash,
His fist a nut;
Through bloody flood or field to dash,
O how unfit.

After describing the greatness of the Haggis, Burns starts to show how everyone should appreciate the Haggis to its fullest. Those who look at the Haggis with “perfect disgust” (Burns 28) and do not appreciate it are looked down upon and are compared to lowly things like, “As feeble as a withered rush” (Burns 32) and “thin legs a good whip-lash” (Burns 33). This shows how Burns was very passionate about the Haggis and would not tolerate any one who did not honor the Haggis with his fullest. Throughout these lines a masculine rhyme scheme was used through the direct way he was insulting the people who did not appreciate the Haggis because people who did not honor it were good to nothing in front of him because Burns passionately believed in the Scottish heritage which included the cutting of the Haggis. And the cutting of the Haggis represented the empowerment Burns felt from the Scottish heritage. It represented how if the Scots ate the Haggis they were given power to keep moving forward and not give up in the hard times they were facing.

Group Thesis 

In the “Address to a Haggis,” Robert Burns empowers the listeners to embrace the Scottish heritage. Burns’ depiction of the traditional moment of cutting and devouring the Haggis contributes to a patriotic and memorable celebration. While addressing the Haggis directly, Burns utilizes grandiose diction and a satirical tone to begin this famous Scottish tradition by restoring in the people a great sense of national pride.

Group Comparison/Contrast

In both Dracula by Bram Stoker and “Address to a Haggis” by Robert Burns, the individuals seek means of strength and bravery. In both texts, food serves as the main source of the pride and confidence they are searching for. Burns is attempting to restore the national pride in the Scots by grandly glorifying the traditional dish called Haggis, representing their country’s culture, to build up a patriotic sense within his people. However, this address is being made directly to the Haggis and Burns portrays the importance of the limited amount claiming, “Then spoon for spoon, the stretch and strive: Devil take the hindmost, and on they drive” (Burns 19-20) to show that this dish holds such great importance that it must be fought over. As each person fights for the largest portion, they hope not only to fill their bellies with delicious Haggis, but the honor and strength that is within it. Burns shows the empowerment of this Haggis to install this empowerment into every individual Scottish person so they also can feel pride to be part of such a great heritage like he is.  

       Going off from the aspect of patriotism there is another aspect of survival. Looking at the ingredients of a Haggis there are many different animal parts that most wouldn’t see in an average meal such as heart, liver, and lungs. That may not sound very appetizing, but looking from a survival-specific perspective, Haggis was good enough for the Scots. In Dracula, blood is seen as a big symbolism within the book. Even though it’s not something normal humans “eat,” vampires “eat” it to keep themselves alive. In both texts food symbolizes survival or what is ethical in terms of survival. When looking at the poem as a whole it’s stating the Scottish economy isn’t in a great state so the Scots were in desperate need of survival. To keep the Scots going they would eat Haggis, which was a cost efficient meal. Burns encourages the Scots throughout the whole poem but specifically in the line “give her a Haggis” (Burns 48) it serves as a way to establish an urgency to keep fighting for their survival and to not give up as a nation. This line also exerts a feeling of confidence to the Scots even in tough times like this. Haggis has become a way of survival for them and is held at a high value. The poem reflects the strength of Scotland as a whole and convinces the Scots to have national pride.

       Similar to Scots filling “their well swollen bellies by-and-by” until they are “bent like drums” (Burns 21-22), Dracula also lacks a sense of moderation. Humans have limits in their capacity to eat, but in hopes of gaining the strength and honor of the haggis, the Scots overeat and extend themselves to have as much as possible. Similarly, Dracula will drink blood from his victims, sometimes until they die in the act due to blood loss. This overexertion shows the lack of moderation and control as a dark, evil trait, that humans possess just like monsters of darkness such as vampires and Dracula. However, Dracula and other vampires are seen multiple times overexerting their thirst, which provides the possibility that dark beings do not possess a capacity or sense of fullness to stop themselves from drinking, which drives them to be evil due to their insatiable hunger. Bram Stoker uses Dracula as a monster to allude to darkness as evil, and Dracula symbolizes a creature of the night, which is seen by his elevated powers similar to that “of 20 men” at night and powerlessness rendered by daylight. This can be interpreted in multiple ways, one correlating darkness to the unknown. Many humans heard of Dracula but did not dare even see him once, because they fear what they do not understand or know, despite that a naive Jonathan Harker moved forward with his job as top priority. The fear of unknown is emphasized when random citizens hold crosses up towards Jonathan as he travels to Dracula, as if saying that he must be cautious and they are too afraid, or simply unable, to help him on his journey. Unknown entities have been related back to fear in literature across many times and cultures, and Dracula is dignified as a leader of darkness, controlling other vampires, taking advantage of humans, and having an overwhelming need for power and control.