More about this poem
This poem was written for Agnes McLehose in December 1787 in response to the lady's own verse, 'From Clarinda on Mr B--- saying he had 'nothing else to do'.
'Clarinda' was the pseudonym adopted by Agnes McLehose, an educated woman whom Burns met in Edinburgh in 1787, and who was separated from her husband James McLehose, a Glasgow lawyer. The lovers exchanged a wealth of letters in which they refer to each other as 'Sylvander' and 'Clarinda'.
Mrs McLehose also inspired works such as Ae fond Kiss and Clarinda, mistress of my soul. Agnes McLehose arranged an introduction to Robert Burns by a mutual friend, Miss Erskine Nimmo (b.1731), and following this the couple embarked on a lengthy and, at times, passionate correspondence, sometimes writing to each other twice in one day (over the years 1787 and 1788).
That said, Agnes McLehose remained aware of her controversial status as a married, yet separated woman, living alone and dependent upon the generosity of her cousin, William Craig (1745-1813).
She was deeply concerned with propriety and confidentiality, and so it was partly to protect both her own and Burns's privacy and reputation that she suggested the noms d'amours 'Sylvander' and 'Clarinda'.
Following Burns's departure from Edinburgh it is apparent that the correspondents' friendship suffered owing to the poet's reunion with Jean Armour and eventual marriage, not to mention the birth of his illegitimate child to Jenny Clow, Agnes McLehose's maid.
Throughout their lengthy correspondence 'Clarinda', an aspiring poetess, sought Burns's advice on a number of poems. The poet was only too willing to oblige and suggested many 'improvements' to the lady's verses.
Pauline Mackay
