To Peter Stuart

To Peter Stuart - fact Summary

Written in 1789

This very short, light-hearted poem is Burns writing directly to his friend Peter Stuart about the irregular arrival of letters. In plain Scots voice he complains—half teasing, half reproach—that he sees Stuart’s sheet only rarely. The poem captures a familiar aspect of 18th-century social life: correspondence as an essential but unreliable link between friends. Its brevity and conversational tone underline Burns’s immediacy in addressing acquaintances and the everyday frustrations of communication.