Alex Broadhead is a University teacher at the University of Liverpool.

In this fascinating study, Broadhead presents a picture of Burns that is far removed from the rustic self-educated Scottish peasant who used the Scottish dialect in his poetry because he was not sufficiently sophisticated in his use of English. . . .Broadhead takes a 21st-century sociolinguistic approach to show that Burns not only had great command of both English and Scots, but also was a master linguist who manipulated different registers and dialects in his poetry. The author presents his argument in his coherent introduction; in the five chapters that follow, he focuses on different aspects of Burns's use of language in his poetry. Writing primarily for those conversant with literary criticism, the author includes easy-to-understand explanations of the linguistic concepts he uses and a wealth of examples from the poetry itself to illustrate his argument effectively. In taking a linguistic approach, Broadhead reveals another intriguing layer of Burns's sociopolitical and cultural impact. . . .A helpful glossary of Scots words is included. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Graduate students through faculty.

• ContentsPreface and AcknowledgmentsAbbreviationsIntroductionChapter 1: Burns on language: the poemsChapter 2: Burns on language 2: beyond the poemsChapter 3: Scots and StereotypesChapter 4: Language Contact 1: TransmugrificationsChapter 5: Language Contact 2: Code-SwitchingBibliographyIndexPermissionsAbout the Author