Pronunciation for Burns's Address to a Haggis
January 26, 2007 9:32 AM Subscribe
I am called upon, with short notice, to deliver the Address to a Haggis. I know the words, but I want to make it sound as good as possible; can you point me to a pronunciation guide or - better - a credible recording?
Best answer: Speaking as someone who has performed at Burns' Suppers semi-professionally in the past, I feel I am at last actually qualified to answer a MeFi question at last;)
The version linked above is okay.. I'm not really a big fan. The pace seems a little too monotonous and is a little high and lilty for my taste.
First thing to say: be confident - this poem really calls for confident delivery. Be loud and positive. Take your time and don't be afraid to use shot pauses.
It's a completely over the top poem about, what is after all, just a bit of food. It's totally silly, which is what makes it great; to get the idea of how funny the poem is, I think it's important to let your audience know that you are totally in earnest about all the ridiculous things you say about how wonderful the haggis is. Treat is like it's an object of highest reverence. You should sound like you are totally carried away with yourself about its greatness;)
It's pretty much a given that you should make some gestures in the delivery, gesturing toward the haggis at appropriate points, such as the first line. If you understand what the poem actually means, then you can really help your audience out (who almost certainly won't understand all of it) by using some gestures. For instance, at the beginning of the second last stanza about marking the haggis fed, show to the audience that you are talking about them - they are just about to eat it after all!
It is also expected that at the line:
"His knife see Rustic-labour dight,
An' cut you up wi' ready slight,"
.. you should brandish a knife at the first line, then cut open the haggis at the on the second, showing the contents to the audience if you can.
Pronunciation is tricky especially if you are not from Scotland, and even more so if not from the British Isles - but don't let it put you off. It's not the end of the world if you can't pronounce a few 18th century Scots words. It really is mostly as you would think it sounds. Just sound it out like you're a primary school kid learning to read. If you get a few words wrong, no one is going to notice, assuming this is not a really discerning Burns audience.
You've already got halfway there by calling correctly an 'address' rather than an 'ode' (which is something else entirely, with poetic meter restrictions). If you are confident, loud and seem honest about your love for the haggis, you'll go down a smash.
Good Luck!
posted by JDT at 2:34 PM on January 26, 2007 [2 favorites]
The version linked above is okay.. I'm not really a big fan. The pace seems a little too monotonous and is a little high and lilty for my taste.
First thing to say: be confident - this poem really calls for confident delivery. Be loud and positive. Take your time and don't be afraid to use shot pauses.
It's a completely over the top poem about, what is after all, just a bit of food. It's totally silly, which is what makes it great; to get the idea of how funny the poem is, I think it's important to let your audience know that you are totally in earnest about all the ridiculous things you say about how wonderful the haggis is. Treat is like it's an object of highest reverence. You should sound like you are totally carried away with yourself about its greatness;)
It's pretty much a given that you should make some gestures in the delivery, gesturing toward the haggis at appropriate points, such as the first line. If you understand what the poem actually means, then you can really help your audience out (who almost certainly won't understand all of it) by using some gestures. For instance, at the beginning of the second last stanza about marking the haggis fed, show to the audience that you are talking about them - they are just about to eat it after all!
It is also expected that at the line:
"His knife see Rustic-labour dight,
An' cut you up wi' ready slight,"
.. you should brandish a knife at the first line, then cut open the haggis at the on the second, showing the contents to the audience if you can.
Pronunciation is tricky especially if you are not from Scotland, and even more so if not from the British Isles - but don't let it put you off. It's not the end of the world if you can't pronounce a few 18th century Scots words. It really is mostly as you would think it sounds. Just sound it out like you're a primary school kid learning to read. If you get a few words wrong, no one is going to notice, assuming this is not a really discerning Burns audience.
You've already got halfway there by calling correctly an 'address' rather than an 'ode' (which is something else entirely, with poetic meter restrictions). If you are confident, loud and seem honest about your love for the haggis, you'll go down a smash.
Good Luck!
posted by JDT at 2:34 PM on January 26, 2007 [2 favorites]
I would advise reading it straight and not trying too hard to come up with a cod Scots accent; you risk descending into parody. I have some great covers of Hamish Henderson's broad Scots folk songs by English singers that work better for not being faked up.
posted by Abiezer at 4:35 PM on January 26, 2007
posted by Abiezer at 4:35 PM on January 26, 2007
Response by poster: Thanks for the links & advice! It was great fun.
posted by Wolfdog at 6:40 PM on January 27, 2007
posted by Wolfdog at 6:40 PM on January 27, 2007
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Horace Rumpole at 9:46 AM on January 26, 2007