Revising Robert Burns and the ‘No Female Bards’ of Ulster-Scots Poetry

Abstract

John Hewitt’s claim to ‘no female bards’ as part of the revival of what he called the rhyming weaver poets tradition narrowed the scope of scholarly interest, just as the once popular claim that many of the writers in this tradition were simply Robert Burns imitators had done. A variety of publications have provided a range of in-depth studies on the impact of Robert Burns in Ireland, and have done much to challenge the latter claim. However, the presence and output of Ulster-Scots women writers within this wider area of scholarship remains little known. Consequently, by exploring poetry from three writers, Olivia Elder, Sarah Leech and Margaret Dixon McDougall, this essay aims to advance several lesser-known eighteenth and nineteenth-century female Irish poets, add depth to the study of Ulster-Scots women’s writing, and provide new perspectives on Burns in Ireland.