Robert Fergusson
Robert Fergusson was a Scottish poet born on September 5, 1750, in Edinburgh. He was the son of William and Elizabeth Fergusson and received an education at Edinburgh High School and St. Andrews University, where he began to write poetry. After the death of his father in 1767, Fergusson left university without graduating and took a clerk position to support his family. Despite his delicate health, he was active in Edinburgh's social scene, which influenced his satirical poetry. His notable works include "Auld Reikie: A Poem" and "The Daft Days," showcasing his ability to depict life across social classes while critiquing societal pretensions, particularly through the lens of Scots vernacular.
Fergusson's later years were marked by struggles with depression and mental illness, leading to his confinement in a madhouse. He died at the young age of twenty-four on October 17, 1774. Despite his short life, his poetry left a significant impact, inspiring later poets like Robert Burns, who honored Fergusson posthumously. Fergusson's contributions to Scottish vernacular poetry continue to resonate with scholars and readers today, affirming his place among Scotland's notable literary figures.
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Subject Terms
Robert Fergusson
Poet
- Born: September 5, 1750
- Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Died: October 17, 1774
- Place of death: Edinburgh, Scotland
Biography
Robert Fergusson was born on September 5, 1750, in Edinburgh, Scotland, the son of William Fergusson and Elizabeth Forbes Fergusson, who were from Aberdeenshire. He attended Edinburgh High School, and then received a scholarship to go to Dundee Grammar School in 1762. In 1764, he matriculated at St. Andrews University. While there, he began writing the poetry for which he became famous. In spite of delicate health, he was high-spirited and much beloved by his peers.
The death of Fergusson’s father in 1767 was a blow to the family, and Fergusson left St. Andrews without a degree. He took a job as a clerk in order to support his mother. Nevertheless, he continued to write poetry and was very active in the clubs, theater, and taverns of Edinburgh, pastimes that provided much material for his later satiric poetry.
Fergusson’s early poems were in the English pastoral genre and are no longer considered to be good examples of the style. He published three pastorals in Ruddiman’s Weekly Magazine in 1771. In 1772, Fergusson published “The Daft Days” in the same periodical. The poem was written in the Scots vernacular and its publication began the most important phase of Fergusson’s short career.
One of Fergusson’s best-known works, Auld Reikie: A Poem, was published in 1773. The poem is brilliant in both its honest description of life in all social classes and in its mockery of the pretensions of the bourgeoisie. Fergusson is at his best in poems like this; he demonstrates his affection for the city and the Scottish people, while at the same time satirizing some members of that society. His use of Scots emphasizes his connection to the common people; the Scots language also lends itself particularly well to Fergusson’s gentle mocking of prideful people.
Never a strong person, Fergusson began suffering with depression in late 1773; two of his poems of that period take poverty, ill health, and impending death as their themes. Even in these poems, however, Fergusson remained playful and witty. However, they foreshadowed his decline into a mental illness contemporaries called “religious melancholia” in 1774. He was so ill that he was unable to work and had to resign his job. After a fall down a flight of stairs left him seriously deranged, he was confined in a madhouse in Edinburgh. He died on October 17, 1774, at the age of twenty-four.
Although his life was brief, Fergusson was one of the greatest of Scots poets. His work was much admired by the quintessential Scots poet, Robert Burns, who paid for a headstone for Fergusson’s grave. Burns also wrote a poignant inscription for a monument honoring his fallen friend. Most scholars agree that if Fergusson’s mind had remained intact and if he had survived, Scotland might have had two national poets. His work, although limited, still interests students of Scottish vernacular poetry.