Second Epistle to Robert Graham, Esq., of Fintry

An injured, dejected speaker appeals to Graham and complains that Nature leaves poets defenseless against creditors, booksellers, and critics. He contrasts poets’ emotional extremes with the complacency of dull people, then mourns Glencairn’s death and prays for Fintry, his remaining support, to enjoy a long life and domestic happiness.

By Robert Burns · Genre: Epistle, Satirical Poetry · 1,094 words

First lines

5th October 1791.

Late crippl'd of an arm, and now a leg, / About to beg a pass for leave to beg; / Dull, listless, teas'd, dejected, and deprest / (Nature is adverse to a cripple's rest); / Will generous Graham list to his Poet's wail? / (It soothes poor Misery, hearkening to her tale) / And hear him curse the light he first survey'd, / And doubly curse the luckless rhyming trade?

• Open reader

Genres

• Epistle — The speaker addresses Graham in rhymed verse, presenting his distress and closing with a prayer for his supporter.
• Satirical Poetry — Animal comparisons ridicule powerful professions, while booksellers become predatory vampires and critics become venomous scorpions.

Tags

verse epistle · poets · literary criticism · booksellers · patronage · bereavement

What this Textopian page supports

Second Epistle to Robert Graham, Esq., of Fintry is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated Date unknown.

This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.

• Work type: Poem
• Author: Robert Burns
• Date: Date unknown
• Language: English
• Genres: Epistle, Satirical Poetry
• Length: 1,094 words
• Structure: 1 section, 10 paragraphs
• Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)

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• Work identity for Second Epistle to Robert Graham, Esq., of Fintry by Robert Burns
• Canonical title URL and first readable passage URL
• Genre and topic classification from the Textopian catalog
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More by Robert Burns

• Handsome Nell (1808)
• O Tibbie, I Hae Seen the Day (1786)
• I Dream'D I Lay (1792)
• In the Character of a Ruined Farmer (1786)
• Tragic Fragment (1786)
• The Tarbolton Lasses (1808)
• Ah, Woe is me, my Mother Dear (1808)
• Montgomerie's Peggy (1790)
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