Politics of poetry

It is rather strange that Hugh Mackay (Letters, 31 January) sees Robert Burns as a secret weapon of the Nationalists.

There is no dubiety about the Bard’s political affiliations. Mr Mackay chooses to quote a poem which was written for a one-off situation, ie the rumoured Napoleonic invasion.

A more accurate assessment of the Bard’s true feelings can be found in the poem, Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation, where Burns writes: “We are bought and sold for English gold, Such a parcel of rogues in a nation.”

R Arthur Williams

Whitehill Avenue

Musselburgh