Is There for Honest Poverty by Robert Burns
"Is There for Honest Poverty," also known as "For A' That and A' That," is a poem by Robert Burns written in 1794 that addresses the themes of social class and the intrinsic value of individuals regardless of their economic status. The poem argues that genuine worth lies in one's character and moral integrity rather than in wealth or social privilege. Burns uses the phrase "for a' that" to emphasize the idea that honest poverty should not lead to shame, as true merit is founded on "sense and worth" rather than superficial symbols of status.
The work reflects Burns's perspective on class distinctions, encouraging readers to recognize the dignity in all individuals, particularly those who are poor. It challenges societal norms that prioritize wealth and status, asserting that camaraderie and shared humanity should unite people across different social strata. The poem's elliptical phrasing and rich symbolism invite interpretation and personal reflection, making it a thought-provoking piece on human equality. Ultimately, Burns expresses a hope for solidarity among people of goodwill, envisioning a world where everyone recognizes one another as equals.
Is There for Honest Poverty by Robert Burns
Excerpted from an article in Magill’s Survey of World Literature, Revised Edition
First published: 1795 (collected in The Canongate Burns, 2001)
Type of work: Poem
The Work
“Is There for Honest Poverty” (also sometimes anthologized under the title “For A’ That and A’ That”) was written in 1794, printed in 1795, and reprinted in 1799. Burns adapted the meter and the phrase “for a’ that” from older songs. A Jacobite song published in 1750 has the following chorus: “For a’ that and a’ that,/ And twice as muckle’s a’ that,/ He’s far beyond the seas the night/ Yet he’ll be here for a’ that.” Also, in “The Jolly Beggars,” Burns had used the popular refrain, although in a different context.
Although the poem is clear enough in its general outline—that the honest worth of men of goodwill, no matter what their social class, rank, or financial condition, outweighs the pretensions of caste or privilege—readers often have trouble understanding Burns’s elliptical phrasing. His argument is that “honest poverty” has greater worth than the false pride of high social position. Symbols of rank—ribbons, stars, “and all that”—are superfluities. True merit is based upon “sense and worth,” the “pith o’ sense, and pride o’ worth,” not upon the “tinsel show” of fine clothing or the pretentiousness of fine dining.
Because Burns wants his reader to grasp the implied meanings of his poem, he often omits logical connectives between ideas. The beginning lines, with suggested additions, may be paraphrased as follows: (What) is there for honest poverty, that it hangs its head and all that (meaning, all that humility, all that false shame because of supposedly low status)? People pass by the coward slave (who lacks the authentic dignity of self-esteem); people dare to be poor for all that (in spite of “all that” lowly position implied by people’s poverty).
Throughout the poem, Burns invites the reader to participate in interpreting the poem. He wants the reader to understand the elliptical expression “and a’ that” in terms of one’s own experiences with the class system. As for Burns’s point of view, that is unambiguous. He hopes that men and women of goodwill in time will unite, so that “man to man, the world o’er/ Shall brithers be for a’ that!”
Bibliography
Bentman, Raymond. Robert Burns. Boston: Twayne, 1987.
Carruthers, Gerard. Robert Burns. Tavistock, Devon, England: Northcote House, 2006.
Crawford, Thomas. Burns: A Study of the Poems and Songs. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1960.
Daiches, David. Robert Burns and His World. London: Thames & Hudson, 1971.
Ferguson, John DeLancey. Pride and Passion: Robert Burns, 1759-1796. 1939. Reprint. New York: Russell & Russell, 1964.
Grimble, Ian. Robert Burns: An Illustrated Biography. New York: P. Bedrick Books, 1986.
Lindsay, John Maurice. The Burns Encyclopaedia. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1980.
McGuirk, Carol. Robert Burns and the Sentimental Era. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1985.
McGuirk, Carol, ed. Critical Essays on Robert Burns. New York: G. K. Hall, 1998.
McIlvanney, Liam. Burns the Radical: Poetry and Politics in Late Eighteenth-Century Scotland. East Linton, Scotland: Tuckwell, 2002.
Stewart, William. Robert Burns and the Common People. New York: Haskell House, 1971.