![]() Finally, his poetry itself provides proof of this dignity: Ramsay never satirises Scots as a language and avoids any simple dichotomy between “comic” Scots and “serious” English. Ramsay also makes a plea in prose in favour of the dignity of Scots (its venerable age, its purity, its prestigious literary heritage …). This mixed Scots facilitates comprehension by non-Scots readers while keeping a link with monoglot Scots, thereby creating a united Anglo-Scottish public. He seeks acceptance for a “mixed” form of Scots as a second British language alongside English. ![]() Rather than prefer either Scots or English, which might be seen as a choice between extremes, one made by later contributors to the Scottish Enlightenment, he chose a diplomatic voice astride the Anglo-Scots linguistic border.ģ How does Ramsay’s poetic language express both his attachment to Scotland’s identity and his openness to a British identity shared with England? First, he both invents a “composite” Anglo-Scottish poetic language and uses traditional Scottish genres and metrical forms in order to express his political concerns, with national identity, but also with practical matters such as Edinburgh’s economy and urban development. He thereby seeks a degree of consideration, even a form of equality, for Scots, faced with English, the language of power in the new state of Great Britain. In a context of anglicisation of Scottish culture, Ramsay invents a poetic language which mixes elements of Scots with English, thus adopting a linguistic middle way. In particular, he uses language as a marker of Scottish identity. Little studied, overshadowed by later illustrious Scottish poets, Ramsay is an unrecognised pioneer in the complex encounters between the two dominant British cultures.Ģ A discreet Jacobite propagandist who increasingly profited from the Union of 1707, Ramsay uses language as a way to reduce the contradiction and tension in his political positions. ![]() This shows his attentiveness to the possibilities of a British future which would not deny two thousand years of Scottish history. Ramsay’s writing demonstrates both open-mindedness and attachment to Scottish particularisms. These personal, literary contacts helped him to imagine a common future shared by two peoples, or more precisely their elites. It was a slow movement, measured notably through epistolary poems exchanged with Englishmen. The latter was neither a premeditated project on his part, nor direct support of the Hanoverian dynasty, their governments, or the terms of the Treaty of Union. There is a political tension in his writings: until the 1730s at least he hoped for the restoration of an independent, Stuart, Scottish kingdom, but he also worked for Anglo-Scottish reconciliation. 1 Ramsay (1684?–1758), one of the last generation born in an independent Scottish state, was also part of the first generation of Hanoverian Britons his career began just after the Treaty of Union of 1707.
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