An illustration and interrogation of the spectrum of Robert Burns's masculinity

Grimshaw, Hannah (2026) An illustration and interrogation of the spectrum of Robert Burns's masculinity. MPhil(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This MPhil dissertation is an illustration and interrogation of the spectrum of Robert Burns's expressions of masculinity. Through a historicised approach, this study accounts for the eighteenth-century literary and social conditions which influenced Burns's understanding and subsequent enactment of masculinity. Surveying the influence of sentimentalism and Adam Smith’s notion of ‘sympathy’ on Burns’s life and work, the ‘spectrum of masculinity’ which is outlined begins with Burns’s significantly portrayal of himself as a 'Man of Feeling'. Furthermore, an examination of the social, cultural, and intellectual spheres which Burns produced writing for provides fruitful insight into the varied self-fashioning of his masculinity, which he tailors to his diverse audiences. Ultimately, this demonstrates that his unique access to multiple spheres produced a uniquely nuanced spectrum of masculine expressions. Notably, these spheres spanned socio-economic boundaries as Burns formed friendships with both economically struggling working men and men of a higher socioeconomic status. While this study has a central focus on homosocial spheres, it also addresses Burns's awareness of the discourse on women's rights which was contemporary to him with the publication of Mary Wollstonecraft's pioneering feminist work A Vindication of the Rights of Woman (1792). This is situated in a wider evaluation of Burns's interaction with the concept of masculine authority, which features his bawdy work which ostentatiously celebrates male sexuality – lying at the other end of the ‘spectrum’ which is laid out. Burns's attitude towards masculine authority was varied - he upheld that authority through his expression of dominance in his writing while he also critically engaged with the futility of male dominance in his narrative masterpiece ‘Tam o’ Shanter’. Overall, this study utilises Robert Burns's complex expressions of masculinity to address contemporary anxieties concerning its nature – demonstrating that, for the poet, masculinity encompasses a wide range of traits which result from a fusion of cultural, social and biographical factors.

• Item Type: Thesis (MPhil(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General)
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > Scottish Literature
• Supervisor's Name: Mackay, Professor Pauline and Young, Dr. Ronnie
• Date of Award: 2026
• Depositing User: Theses Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2026-85826
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 19 Mar 2026 14:51
• Last Modified: 22 Mar 2026 09:59
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.85826
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/85826