A Man’s a Man for A’ That

Summary

A Man's a Man for A' That, also known by its first line Is There for Honest Poverty, is a song Burns wrote in 1795 and sent to George Thomson. It is the fullest statement of his belief in the equal worth of human beings regardless of rank. Every stanza turns on the refrain for a' that, meaning in spite of all that. The first stanza says that the man who hangs his head because he is poor is a coward; we dare be poor for all that. Rank is but the guinea's stamp, the image pressed on a coin; the man is the gold. The second stanza says that though we dine on homely food and wear coarse grey cloth, a man is a man for all that, and the honest man, however poor, is king of men. The third mocks a lord who struts and stares and is worshipped by hundreds: he is only a fool, and the man of independent mind looks and laughs at his ribbons and stars. The fourth says a prince can make a belted knight, a marquis or duke, but cannot make an honest man; sense and worth are higher rank than titles. The last stanza is a prayer: let us pray that it may come, as it will, that sense and worth shall have the first place over all the earth, and that man to man the world over shall be brothers. The song reflects the revolutionary ideas of the 1790s, but its convictions also have deep roots in the Scottish Presbyterian sense of every soul's worth before God. It was sung at the opening of the new Scottish Parliament in 1999, and it remains a touchstone for discussion of human dignity. Students should read it slowly, stanza by stanza, as an argument.

Top Lessons

• The worth of a person

  Burns says rank is only the stamp on a coin, while the person is the gold. Worth lies in character, not title.

• Mockery of pride

  The third stanza laughs at a lord who struts. Pride in rank looks foolish to the independent mind.

• Hope of brotherhood

  The song ends with a prayer for universal brotherhood. Students should compare it with the Christian teaching on one family in Christ.

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