Andrew Fazio
2023 Scholarship Award Recipient
Holy Cross High School, Flushing NY
Andrew’s essay examined Burns’ satire of religious hypocrisy in Holy Willie’s Prayer, critiquing the way faith can be manipulated to justify moral double standards. He explored how Burns exposed the contradictions of the Church and its influence on personal guilt and self-righteousness.
Burns was born in 1759 and raised in a Presbyterian household. This was the dominant faith of Scotland. Compared to Roman Catholics, members of this faith were much different. They rejected concepts such as transubstantiation and the papacy, focusing on scripture and one’s relationship with God. Since Burns was raised in a rural area, religion likely played a significant role in his community. As Burns became older, however, he distanced himself from organized religion. While some historians call him a deist and others an agnostic, his perspective of faith evolved. One cause for this evolution could be his opposition to slavery. At the time, Christians utilized the Bible to justify slavery. Burns’ radical rejection of this belief demonstrates his ambivalence towards scripture.
Burns structures Holy Willie’s Prayer as an intimate conversation between a skeptical Christian man and God. In the first stanza, the speaker praises God for sending innocent people to hell:
O You that in the Heavens does dwell,
Who, as it pleases best Yourself,
Sends one to Heaven and ten to Hell
All for Your glory,
And not for any good or ill
They have done before You!
This superficial praise mocks the hypocrisy of the Church’s doctrine of heaven and hell. The poet finds the Presbyterian theme of predestination absurd. It likely infuriates him that someone with strong faith and good works is still destined for hell. In the third stanza, the speaker’s piety begins to crack. He questions God for sending so many people like him to hell simply for existing. Still, he knows it could just as easily happen to him, and that petrifies him.
When from my mither's womb I fell,
Thou might hae plung'd me deep in hell
To gnash my gooms, and weep, and wail
In burning lakes,
Whare damned devils roar and yell
The use of vivid imagery, alliteration (“gnash my gooms”), and assonance (“deep” and “weep”) to describe the Christian concept of hell illustrates the way religion can psychologically manipulate people into loyalty. Religious threats of eternal suffering quickly crush any feelings of doubt or confusion that come from our natural ability to reason. This phenomenon has been used throughout history and occurs in several other religions and institutions.
After the speaker has “buttered up” his God with flattery and praise, he confesses his sins. He mentions his issues with lust, having had numerous affairs. The poet argues how the Church has ruined the joys of sex for his country. Rather than symbolizing pleasure and intimacy, sex now symbolizes remorse and scandal. The speaker then admonishes his earthly self for being so corrupt and constantly giving in to the desires of the flesh, admitting that he is only “dust.” By doing so, he attempts to lessen the severity of his offense. Readers observe how powerless folks sometimes become when subordinated to God.
After his confession, the speaker yields to his skepticism and questions why God calls humanity his chosen people if they bring him so much shame and disgust.
For here Thou has a chosen race!
But God confound their stubborn face
An' blast their name,
Wha bring Thy elders to disgrace
An' open shame!
The speaker then begins comparing his sins to those of the minister. He argues that this man sins much more than him and abuses his authority.
Lord, mind Gau'n Hamilton's deserts:
He drinks, an' swears, an' plays at cartes,
Yet has sae monie takin arts
Wi' great and sma',
Frae God's ain Priest the peoples hearts
He steals awa.
Burns explores how strict religions such as these cause their members to turn against each other rather than love one another. Moral purity becomes a brutal competition rather than a shared effort. The irony of sinning while communicating with God creates humor but yet again exposes a flaw of the Church. The poet also exposes the corruption of religious leaders. Ministers “stealing away people’s hearts” is a symbol of the potential they have to psychologically manipulate the common people. Why should a wealthy minister be allowed to drink and gamble but not a poor farmer?
Rhetorical questions such as these further develop the intimacy between the speaker and his intended audience (God). The speaker ends his prayer by reminding God of just how special he truly is.
But, Lord, remember me and mine
Wi' mercies temporal and divine,
That I for grace an' gear may shine
Excell'd by nane; And a' the glory shall be Thine --
Amen, Amen!
The clash of the ego with religious trauma develops a superiority complex unlike any other. The writer believes this phenomenon is far too common and perilous to society. The lack of logic in the speaker’s petitions creates a strong ending that prompts the audience to consider the hypocrisies of their faith.