"Holy Willie's Prayer": An Analysis of Romanticism
This three page graduate essay examines the Robert Burns poem, "Holy Willie's Prayer." The author notes that this poem should be considered a work of Romantic poetry, for it features many of the definitive elements of Romanticism described by William Wordsworth in his Preface to Lyrical Ballads. Wordsworths observation that Romantic poems must have a worthy purpose and are products of the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings is relevant to this analysis of Holy Willies Prayer for it provides the criteria needed to evaluate the Romantic elements in Burns poem.
