Versicles on Sign-Posts by Robert Burns
The verses portray two sign-post figures: one bears an everlasting smile like a landlord welcoming guests, yet resembles a fierce-looking but harmless lion; the other is an empty-headed human face in a wig, compared to a barber’s poll and made to seem impressively large when well preserved.
By Robert Burns · First published 1808 · Genre: Satirical Poetry, Epigram, Comic Verse · 119 words
First lines
His face with smile eternal drest, / Just like the Landlord's to his Guest's, / High as they hang with creaking din, / To index out the Country Inn. / He looked just as your sign-post Lions do, / With aspect fierce, and quite as harmless too.
A head, pure, sinless quite of brain and soul, / The very image of a barber's Poll; / It shews a human face, and wears a wig, / And looks, when well preserv'd, amazing big.
1789
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Genres
- Satirical Poetry — The short versicles use comic comparison and mock-heroic description to ridicule the artificial, harmless fierceness of inn sign-post figures and barber-pole imagery.
- Epigram — Each compact verse delivers a pointed, self-contained humorous observation, relying on concise wit rather than narrative development.
- Comic Verse — The work employs playful rhymes, exaggerated visual descriptions, and amusing contrasts between intimidating appearances and harmless reality.
- Occasional Poetry — These brief pieces appear designed for a specific social or public context, likely responding to particular sign-posts or familiar local visual emblems.
Tags
Scottish poetry · eighteenth-century literature · 1789 · verse epigram · satirical verse · comic poetry · sign-posts · country inn · landlord · hospitality · inn signs · lion figure
What this Textopian page supports
Versicles on Sign-Posts is listed on Textopian as a poem by Robert Burns, dated 1808 CE.
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: 1808 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Satirical Poetry, Epigram, Comic Verse, Occasional Poetry, Descriptive Poetry
- Length: 119 words
- Structure: 1 section, 3 paragraphs
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