‘Why should na poor folk mowe’ (1792), is a cutting satire of the French Revolution, written during a period of societal change. In this essay, I use close reading to demonstrate how Burns describes the mounting tension of the French Revolution, calls Scottish people to action, and strives to bring the revolution to Scotland. In my reading, I focus on Burns’ use of language as a tool of political satire – that is, highlighting the object of criticism (here, the failure of the monarchs) and using humour as a tool to ridicule it, ultimately aiming for political change. Additionally, I study how the form, rhyme scheme and the use of Scots English contribute to and strengthen the message of the poem. Furthermore, I demonstrate how the failures in the war efforts are linked to sexual incompetence in the poem, whereas lower classes are portrayed powerful both in reproduction and in revolution. In this way, I suggest, Burns celebrates the ordinary people and their natural motivations, simultaneously ridiculing the upper classes and their seemingly artificial and removed incentives. Finally, I discuss the importance of applying critical analysis to Burns’ poetry in order to not paint him a saintly figure but rather to challenge the problematic and paradox relationship between Robert Burns, slavery and sexism in contemporary analysis.
A Jovial Dismissal
In the first stanza of the poem, the speaker discusses the political situation of the French Revolution; the monarchs, people of respected religious positions and fanatics (‘Princes and Prelates and het-headed zealots’), the speaker states, have created mayhem throughout Europe (‘All Europe hae set in a lowe’), the lower classes do not envy the monarchs (‘nor envies a crown’) but rather, the ‘poor man … comforts himsel with a mowe [a crude expression for reproductive acts]’, as the joys of reproduction cannot be taken away. By use of Scots English, the speaker addresses the Scottish people, while the word poor directs the poem towards the lower classes. The impact is strengthened further with the use of Scots rhyming pairs (i.e lowe/mowe). The word choices describing the upper classes (princes/prelates/het-headed zealots) give the poem a ridiculing tone from the first line.
Each stanza is followed by the chorus, in which the speaker asks why the lower classes should not indulge in the joys of reproduction, stating that it is their only joy as they have no material possessions. Thus, the contrast of the natural (sex) and the class structure that makes upper classes privileged, but perhaps, takes them further from nature (‘the great folk hae siller, and houses and lands’), is clearly established, and though the ownership of ‘lands’ is mentioned, it does not demonstrate a connection with nature, but merely the relationship between social class and ownership. Furthermore, the repetition — almost, a chant — of the word mowe makes the rhyme captivating and provocative, emphasizing the challenge in the tone of the poem. This, then, creates an atmosphere of revolution, associating it with sex, and these two forces cast the lower classes in a capable and strong light. Thus, the only thing left to the people, that is, sex, becomes the force of the revolution and the symbol for natural force of the oppressed revolutionaries.
And why shouldna poor folk mowe, mowe, mowe,
And why shouldna poor folk mowe:
The great folk hae siller, and houses and lands,
Poor bodies hae naething but mowe.
The form of the poem — a combination of iambic and anapaest verse — serves a similar purpose than the use of repetition; it both strengthens the satire and adds to the buoyancy of the poem, giving the poem a strong and rolling rhythm and a cheerful yet mocking tone. The poem employs both internal and end rhymes, furthering the effect created with the use of the form. The internal rhymes, some of which are imperfect rhymes, are mostly ones the further the satirical meaning (i.e. prelates/zealots). The end rhymes of the poem (with a rhyme scheme that varies between ABCB BBDB and ABAB BBCB [the latter part referring to the chorus]) are mostly rhyming pairs consisting of the word mowe and another word (i.e. lowe, cowe, vow), echoing the repetition. However, there are also other end rhymes with imperfect rhymes (i.e. France/sense [2] and Stanislaus/pr-ck o’ brass [5]).
The second stanza goes more in depth in the revolution, describing the events of the Duke of Brunswick’s mainly Austrian and Prussian army invading France (‘Br-nsw-ck’s great Prince cam a cruising to Fr-nce’) in 1972 (the year in which the poem was written), with an intension to stop the revolution (Irvine 2009, 74). The wording ‘republican billies [comrade, companion] to cowe’ gives a sense of comradery whereas the army’s intention (‘to cowe’) is presented as a mere effort at frightening the revolutionaries. The next two lines ‘Bauld Br-nsw-ck’s great Prince wad hae shawn better sense / At hame with his Princess to mowe’ state bluntly that the army was defeated (Irvine 74), and that the Duke should have stayed home and indulged in reproductive acts instead. This is the first clear instance in which that the speaker presents the monarchy incapable both in its military and sexual capacity, a message that is repeated and strengthened throughout the poem.
The Third stanza describes the failed attempts of Frederick-William II, the King of Prussia (Irvine 74), repeating a similar message to the previous stanza: he should have stayed home and had sex as, the speaker states, had been his former plan (‘But Frederic had better ne’er forded water / But spent as he docht in a mowe’) instead of sacrificing valuable soldiers (‘to spend his best blood he did vow’) to try to stop the revolution.
A Revolution Gaining Momentum
The fourth stanza ten goes on to discuss The Holy Roman Emperor, Francis II (Irvine 74), and his vehement (‘the Emperor swore / In Paris he’d kick up a row’) but futile attempt at helping stop the revolution. According to the speaker, Paris (the city here is personalized, and can be seen as representing the revolutionary masses) merely laughed and made it clear that he should leave with crude terminology referring to reproductive acts (‘and bade him gae tak him a mowe’). The Emperor is referred to as ‘laddie’; in this context, it serves as a diminishing, mocking term. Thus, the Roman Emperor is portrayed as pompous but ultimately useless, and the revolutionaries in contrast as powerful, dismissing the emperor. This stanza, while similar to the two before, presents a stronger reaction to the monarch’s attempt at stopping the movement. Indeed, the tone of the poem becomes more urgent and forceful. In the previous stanzas, the monarchs have been described as foolish to interfere; here, the poem describes a hard dismissal. Thus, the steadily mounting momentum in the poem describes the growing tension of the revolution.
The next stanza is about the relationship between Russia and Poland at the time; Catherine the Great (‘Auld Kate’) of Russia and Stanislaw August Poniatowski (‘poor Stanislaus’), who was the final leader of the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth. The latter had been inspired by the French Revolution, making changes to form a more modern Constitution for Poland. In 1792, however, the modernized state was defeated by Russia (Irvine 74). The poem takes an aggressively objective stance to these anti-revolutionary events, stating that the Empress of Russia should be sexually violated by the devil (‘May the deil in her a – ram a huge pr–ck o’ brass’) and that he should ‘damn her in hell with a mowe’, which can be read as execution by means or rape or a condemnation of her acts through sexual violation. A prick of brass is a vehicle by which blockages of firearms could be cleaned, and the word prick itself can be seen to refer to male genitalia. The stanza thus refers to both sexual violence and firearms, suggesting a violent condemnation of a monarch interfering in the revolution. Furthermore, worth noting is that as a woman, the empress becomes an object of sexual violence, whereas the male leaders are simply asked focus on sex instead of politics.
Bringing the Revolution Back Home
The sixth and final stanza leaves France to focus on Britain. Here, the poem discusses the time after the revolution, with ‘truce with commotions and new-fangled notions’, the changes in politics and the social structure. These are referred to as ‘a bumper I trust you’ll allow’, suggesting that the audience of the poem is satisfied with the aftermath of the revolution (segmenting the message that the poem is writing for the lower classes). A bumper, that is, a toast, is raised perhaps both to celebrate the revolution and to mock the failure of the monarchs. The ending of the poem ‘Here’s George our gude king and Charlotte his queen, / And lang may they tak a gude mowe’ is a mock salute to Britain’s monarchs of the time. In this way, I suggest, Burns turns the critique towards the British Empire, suggesting that something similar should happen to them; or at least that the time for revolution has come. Thus, the speaker of the poem advises that it is the time of the people and not of the monarchs, and that the people of Scotland should take momentum of the revolution and act in a similar way. At the time, a considerable amount of British people was sympathetic to the French Revolution (Irvine, Introduction), and ‘Why should na poor folk mowe’ captures the spirit of the revolution, calling Scottish people to action in their home country.
A Fight of Freedom for Some
In ‘Why should na poor folk mowe’, the speaker of the poem describes the coalition against France as futile and ridicules the monarchs of the time, presenting them as sexually and politically incapable. In contrast to this, the lower classes, Burns seems to suggest, are more successful and dynamic, both sexually and politically than the incapable monarchs, distanced from nature and incapable of succeeding in sexual or political acts. Thus, sex and revolution become entwined to a point of inseparability in the poem. In this way, the poem celebrates the victory of the natural (sex) over man-made hegemonies (which the monarchs are a manifestation of). Indeed, Burns’ poetry often celebrates nature (Irvine, Sentimentalism) and the lower classes (Mole 2019), and in the poem, the message is clearly manifested. Furthermore, Burns encourages the people of Scotland to gain momentum from the French Revolution with his revolutionary words and the use of Scots English. In this way, I suggest, he aims to bring the revolution to Scotland.
Burns continues to be a celebrated figure in Scottish literary history. However, it is worth pondering who Burns in fact strived to uplift and celebrate in his poetry. He is seen as a national hero, championing freedom — and yet, Burns almost accepted a job as a bookkeeper in a slave plantation in 1786 (Morris 343). Furthermore, as apparent e.g. in my analysis, some of his poetry condones subjecting women to sexual assault under certain circumstances. Indeed, it has been argued that Burns might have even committed sexual assault himself (Lochhead). Thus, the people Burns celebrate, while of the lower classes, seem to be merely white, free men, and thus, his status as an impeccable national hero should be challenged in contemporary analysis. Such has been done i.e. by Morris (2014). However, further study on Burns’ poetry from the point of intersectionality (Crenshaw 1989) — that is, taking the overlap of different societal power structures into account — could be beneficial. Nevertheless, Burns continues to be a celebrated symbol of Scottishness, a figure representing the people. I suggest that it is the responsibility of the contemporary society to remember and note the faults of Burns while celebrating him in order not to forget the diachronic and contemporary issues regarding slavery, racism, sexism and sexual assault and to understand that though undoubtedly a champion of some, Robert Burns was by no means a champion of all oppressed people.
Bibliography
Burns, Robert. ‘Why should na poor folk mowe.’ The Edinburgh Anthology of Scottish Literature Volume 1, edited by Robert Irvine. Kennedy & Boyd, 2009, pp. 74-75.
Crenshaw, Kimberle. ‘Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics.’ University of Chicago Legal Forum, vol. 1989, no. 1, 1989, pp. 139-167.
Irvine, Robert. ‘Introduction to the 18th Century’ [lecture] David Hume Tower LTA. 18 September. 2019.
Irvine, Robert. ‘Burns, Sentimentalism, and the Lyric’ [lecture] Chrystal Macmillan Building. 10 October. 2019.
Lochhead, Liz. ‘Burns and Women’ [lecture] Birdie Room, University of Glasgow. 30 January. 2018.
Mole, Tom. ‘Burns and Scottishness’ [lecture] Chrystal Macmillan Building. 17 October. 2019.
Morris, Michael. ‘Robert Burns: Recovering Scotland’s Memory of the Black Atlantic.’ Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies, vol. 37, no. 3, 2014, pp. 343-359.