| | Although an able poet in standard English his best work was in his native Scots.<ref>Robert Burns, Selected Poems, C. McGuirk, p9</ref> Poems like "The Twa Dogs" and "The Cotter's Saturday Night," vividly describe the harshness of 18th century Scots rural life but he could also write the most cutting social critique such as in "Holy Willie's Prayer," and "Address to the Unco Guid," whilst "To a Mouse" showed he was capable of great tenderness and fellow feeling. He is considered a pioneer of the Romantic movement and was a great influence on [[William Wordsworth]], [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]], and [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]].<ref>Robert Burns, Selected Poems, C. McGuirk, p14</ref> | | Although an able poet in standard English his best work was in his native Scots.<ref>Robert Burns, Selected Poems, C. McGuirk, p9</ref> Poems like "The Twa Dogs" and "The Cotter's Saturday Night," vividly describe the harshness of 18th century Scots rural life but he could also write the most cutting social critique such as in "Holy Willie's Prayer," and "Address to the Unco Guid," whilst "To a Mouse" showed he was capable of great tenderness and fellow feeling. He is considered a pioneer of the Romantic movement and was a great influence on [[William Wordsworth]], [[Samuel Taylor Coleridge]], and [[Percy Bysshe Shelley]].<ref>Robert Burns, Selected Poems, C. McGuirk, p14</ref> |