From the introduction: So vast is the body of published work on Burns that one must
justify yet another study of the poet. From 1786 to the present, his
life and poetry have always had popular appeal. In his lifetime, he
was an object of attention to all classes of society, from Ayrshire
peasants to the habitue of Edinburgh drawing-roans, and detractors,
idolaters, and disinterested parties have continued to scrutinize his
achievements and failings. Popular attention has never wavered. In
the nineteenth century especially, many and varied editions of Burns's
poetry were published to satisfy this curiosity. Some were lavish,
some cheap; some accurate, others, wildly imaginative. Nor has
this demand noticeably slackened in the present century. Not a
year passes without some book or pamphlet, albeit ephemeral, being
published on Burns.
To the scholarly mind, "popular", when applied to Burns
studies, usually implies superficiality and this assumption all too
often proves correct. It can hardly be said that the best minds of
each age since Burns's death have considered him worthy of their
critical attention in the way that Shakespeare, or Dante, or Milton
have engaged scholars, editors, and publishers in succeeding generations.
Byron, Coleridge, Hazlitt, Emerson, Carlyle, and Mac=armid
have commented on Burns, and in the nineteenth century important and
durable editorial work was undertaken. Nevertheless, it remains
true that it was not until the twentieth century, and then only in
bursts, that there developed a scholarly, academic interest to
match the popular enthusiasm for Robert Burns