Elegy on Mr William Cruikshank A.m.

Elegy on Mr William Cruikshank A.m. - fact Summary

Commemorating a Fellow Poet

This short elegy, composed by Robert Burns in 1795, marks the death of his friend and fellow poet William Cruikshank. Burns combines affectionate remembrance with wry humor, suggesting Cruikshank’s faults "lay in Latin" while none knew them in English. The poem is concise and conversational, using colloquial Scots to register both loss and the private, human imperfections of the deceased. It functions as a personal memorial rather than a formal public elegy, emphasizing friendship and gentle teasing over grand mourning.