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RAMSAY, ALLAN (1686-1758)

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Originally appearing in Volume V22, Page 878 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.

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RAMSAY, See also:
ALLAN, DAVID (1744–1796)
ALLAN, SIR HUGH (1810–1882)
ALLAN, SIR WILLIAM (1782–1850)
ALLAN (1686-1758) , Scottish poet, was See also:

BORN, IGNAZ, EDLER VON (1742–1791)

born at See also:

LEADHILLS

Leadhills, See also:

LANARKSHIRE

Lanarkshire, on the 15th of See also:

OCTOBER

October 1686. He was educated at the See also:

PARISH (Gr. irapouda, district, neighbourhood; 7r&poucos, one dwelling near or beside, from crap&, OtKOS, house; Lat. paroecur, Late Lat. parochia; cf. Fr. paroisse)

parish school of See also:

Crawford, and in 1701 was apprenticed to a See also:

WIG (short for " periwig," an alternative form of " peruke," Fr. perruque; cf. Span. peluca; conjecturally derived from Lat. pilus)

wig-maker in See also:

EDINBURGH

Edinburgh. He married See also:

Christian See also:

Ross in 1712; a few years after he had established himself as a wig-maker (not as a See also:

BARBER (from Lat. barba, beard)

barber, as has been often said) in the High See also:

Street, and soon found himself in comfortable circumstances. His first efforts in See also:

VERSE (from Lat. versus, literally a line or furrow drawn by turning the plough, from vertere, and afterwards signifying an arrangement of syllables into feet)

verse-making were inspired by the meetings of the Easy See also:

CLUB (connected with " clump ")

Club (founded in 1712), of. which he was an See also:

ORIGINAL

original member; and in 1715 he became the Club See also:

LAUREATE (Lat. laureatus, from laurea, the laurel tree)

Laureate. In the society of the members he assumed the name of " See also:

ISAAC (Hebrew for " he laughs," on explanatory references to the name, see ABRAHAM)

Isaac Bickerstaff," and later of " Gawin See also:

Douglas," the latter partly in memory of his maternal grandfather Douglas of Muthill (See also:

PERTHSHIRE

Perthshire), and partly to give point to his boast that he was a " poet sprung from a Douglas See also:

LOIN (through O. Fr. loigne or logne, mod. lunge, from Lat. Iambus)

loin." The choice of the two names has some significance, when we consider his later See also:

LITERARY

literary See also:

LIFE

life as the See also:

ASSOCIATE (Lat. associates, from ad, to, and sociare to join)

associate of the See also:

Queen See also:

Anne poets and as a See also:

COLLECTOR

collector of old Scots See also:

POETRY

poetry. By 1718 he had made some reputation as a writer of occasional verse, which he published in broadsheets, and then (or a See also:

YEAR

year earlier) he turned See also:

BOOK

book-seller in the premises where he had hitherto plied his See also:

CRAFT (a word common to Teutonic languages for strength, or power; cf. Ger. Kraft)

craft of wig-making. In 1716 he had published a rough transcript of See also:

Christ's See also:

KIRK, SIR JOHN (1832- )

Kirk on the See also:

Green from the See also:

BANNATYNE, GEORGE (1545—? 1608)

Bannatyne MS., with some additions of his own. In 1718 he republished the piece with more supplementary verses. In the following year he printed a collection of Scots Songs. The success of these ventures prompted him to collect his poems in 1722. The See also:

VOLUME

volume was issued by subscription, and brought in the sum of four See also:

HUNDRED

hundred guineas. Four years later he removed to another See also:

SHOP

shop, in the neighbouring Luckenbooths, where he opened a circulating library (the first in See also:

Scotland) and extended his business as a bookseller.

Between the publication of the collected edition of his poems and his settling down in the Luckenbooths, he had published a few shorter poems and had issued the first instalments of The See also:

TEA (Chinese cha, Amoy dialect t€)

Tea-Table See also:

MISCELLANY

Miscellany and The Ever Green (both 1724-1727). The Tea-Table Miscellany is " A Collection of Choice Songs Scots and See also:

ENGLISH

English," containing some of Ramsay's own, some by his See also:

friends, several well-known See also:

BALLADS

ballads and songs, and some See also:

Caroline verse. Its See also:

TITLE (0. Fr. title, mod. titre, from Lat. titulus)

title was suggested by the See also:

pro-gramme of the Spectator : and the compiler claimed the See also:

PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place for his songs " e'en while the tea's fill'd reeking See also:

ROUND (O. Fr. rond, Lat. rotundus, the Fr. is the source also of Du. rond; Ger., Swed., Dan. and Nor. rond)

round," which See also:

ADDISON, JOSEPH (1672-1719)

Addison sought for his speculations at the See also:

HOUR

hour set apart " for tea and See also:

BREAD

bread and See also:

BUTTER (Lat. butyrum, Gr. 0obrvpov, apparently connected with $ous, cow, and rvpbs, cheese, but, according to the New English Dictionary, perhaps of Scythian origin)

butter." In The Ever Green, being a Collection of Scots Poems wrote by the Ingenious before zmoo, Ramsay had another purpose, to reawaken an See also:

INTEREST

interest in the older See also:

NATIONAL

national literature. Nearly all the pieces were taken from the Bannatyne MS., though they are by no means verbatim copies. They included his version of Christ's Kirk (u.s.) and a remarkable pastiche by the editor entitled the See also:

VISION (from Lat. videre, to see), or SIGHT

Vision. While engaged on these two See also:

SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series, he produced, in 1725, his dramatic See also:

PASTORAL (from Lat. pastor, a shepherd)

pastoral The See also:

GENTLE (through the Fr. gentil, from Lat. gentilis, belonging to the same gens, or family)

Gentle Shepherd. In the volume of poems published in 1722 Ramsay had shown his See also:

bent to this genre, especially in " Patie and See also:

Roger," which supplies two of the dramatis personae to his greater See also:

WORK

work. The success of the See also:

DRAMA (literally "action," from Gr. Snail, act or do)

drama was remarkable. It passed through several See also:

EDITIONS

editions, and was performed at the See also:

THEATRE (BEarpov, " a place for seeing," from OeacOae)

theatre in Edinburgh; its title is still known in every corner of Scotland, even if it be no longer read. Ramsay wrote little afterwards, though he published a few shorter poems, and new editions of his earlierwork. A See also:

COMPLETE

complete edition of his Poems appeared in See also:

LONDON

London in 1731 and in See also:

DUBLIN

Dublin in 1733. With a See also:

TOUCH (derived through Fr. toucher from a common Teutonic and Indo-Germanic root, cf. " tug," " tuck," O. H. Ger. zucchen, to twitch or draw)

touch of vanity he expressed the fear lest " the coolness of See also:

FANCY (a shortened form, dating from the 15th century, of " fantasy," which is derived through the O. Fr. fantasie, modern fantaisie. from the Latinized form of the Gr. cbavraoia, Oavrai'ecv, Oat Pais, to show)

fancy that attends advanced years should make me See also:

RISK

risk the reputation I had acquired." He was already on terms of intimacy with the leading men of letters in Scotland and See also:

England.

He corresponded with See also:

Hamilton of Bangour (q.v.), See also:

Somerville (q.v.), See also:

Gay (q.v.) and See also:

Pope. Gay visited him in Edinburgh, and Pope praised his pastoral—compliments which were undoubtedly responsible for some of Ramsay's unhappy poetic ventures beyond his Scots See also:

VERNACULAR (Lat. verna, dim. vernaculus, a slave horn in his master's house)

vernacular. The poet had for many years been a warm supporter of the See also:

STAGE (Fr. 6/age; from Lat. stare, to stand)

stage. Some of his prologues and epilogues were written for the London theatres. In 1736 he set about the erection of a new theatre, " at vast expense," in Carrubber's See also:

Close, Edinburgh; but the opposition was too strong, and the i ew See also:

house was closed in 1737. In 1755 he retired from his shop to the house on the slope of the See also:

Castle See also:

Rock, still known as Ramsay See also:

Lodge. In this house, called by his friends " the See also:

goose-See also:

pie," because of its octagonal shape, the poet died on the 7th of See also:

JANUARY

January 1758. Ramsay's importance in literary See also:

HISTORY

history is twofold. As a pastoral writer (" in some respects the best in the See also:

WORLD

world," according to See also:

Leigh See also:

Hunt) he contributed, at an See also:

early stage, to the naturalistic reaction of the 18th See also:

CENTURY (from Lat. centuria, a division of a hundred men)

century. His Gentle Shepherd, by its directness of impression and its appreciation of See also:

COUNTRY (from the Mid. Eng. contre or contrie, and O. Fr. cuntree; Late Lat. contrata, showing the derivation from contra, opposite, over against, thus the tract of land which fronts the sight, cf. Ger. Gegend, neighbourhood)

country life, anticipates the attitude of the school which See also:

broke with neo-classical tradition. It has the " mixed " faults which make the greater poem of his Scots successor, See also:

Thomson, a " transitional " document, but these give it an See also:

HISTORICAL

historical, if not an individual, interest. His See also:

CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief place is, however, as an editor.

He is the connecting-See also:

LINK

link between the greater " Makars " of the 15th and 16th centuries, and See also:

Fergusson (q.v.) and See also:

Burns. He revived the interest in vernacular literature, and directly inspired the See also:

GENIUS (from Lat. genere, gignere)

genius of his greater successors. The See also:

PREFACE (Med. Lat. prefatia, for classical praefatio, praefari, to speak beforehand)

preface to his Ever Green is a protest against " imported trimming " and " See also:

FOREIGN

foreign See also:

EMBROIDERY (M.E. embrouderie, from O. Fr. embroder, Mod. Fr. broder)

embroidery in our writings," and a plea for a return to See also:

SIMPLE

simple Scottish tradition. He had no scholarly interest in the past, and he never hesitated to trans-See also:

FORM (Lat. forma)

form the texts when he could give contemporary " point " to a poem; but his See also:

INSTINCT

instinct was See also:

GOOD, JOHN MASON (1764-1827)

good, and he did much to stimulate an ignorant public to fresh enjoyment. In this respect, too, he anticipates the reaction in England which followed securely on the publication of See also:

Percy's Reliques. The Tea-Table Miscellany was reprinted in 1871 (2 vols., See also:

GLASGOW

Glasgow; See also:

John Crum) ; The Ever Green in 1875 (2 vols., Glasgow; See also:

Robert Forrester); The Poems of Allan Ramsay in 1897 (2 vols., See also:

Paisley; Alex. See also:

Gardner). These volumes are See also:

UNIFORM

uniform in See also:

SIZE

size and binding, though issued by different publishers, u.s. A selection of the Poems appeared in 1887 (1 vol. 16mo, London; See also:

Walter See also:

Scott). There are many popular reprints of The Gentle Shepherd. (G.

End of Article: RAMSAY, ALLAN (1686-1758)

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