Epigram on Rough Roads by Robert Burns
The speaker gives thanks for finally arriving after travelling through rough, muddy paths, which he treats as proof that road-making is neglected. He humorously invokes the Bible’s warning that heedless sinners will be damned unless they “mend their ways,” turning the moral phrase into a complaint that the people should repair their roads.
By Robert Burns · First published 1787 · Genre: Epigram, Satirical Poetry, Humorous Poetry · 80 words
First lines
I'm now arrived-thanks to the gods! - / Thro' pathways rough and muddy, / A certain sign that makin roads / Is no this people's study: / Altho' Im not wi' Scripture cram'd, / I'm sure the Bible says / That heedless sinners shall be damn'd, / Unless they mend their ways.
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Genres
- Epigram — A short, pointed verse that delivers a witty satirical observation through a concluding pun on 'mend their ways.'
- Satirical Poetry — The poem mocks poor road maintenance and the public negligence responsible for rough, muddy travel.
- Humorous Poetry — Its complaint is expressed with comic exaggeration, colloquial diction, and a playful scriptural twist.
- Occasional Poetry — The verse responds to a specific everyday circumstance: the speaker's difficult journey over neglected roads.
Tags
Scottish vernacular poetry · epigram · satirical verse · comic complaint · rough roads · muddy pathways · travel · arrival · road maintenance · neglected infrastructure · rural Scotland · eighteenth-century Scotland
What this Textopian page supports
Epigram on Rough Roads is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1787 CE.
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- Work type: Poem
- Author: Robert Burns
- Date: 1787 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Epigram, Satirical Poetry, Humorous Poetry, Occasional Poetry, Scottish Vernacular Poetry
- Length: 80 words
- Structure: 1 section, 1 paragraphs
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