It could be argued that Scotland was waiting for a "ploughman poet" and that Burns was happy to give them one. Since the civil unrest of the 17th century, which saw Scotland defeated politically and militarily and brought close to economic ruin, the nation had continued to suffer a series of blows to its collective pride. The 1707 Act of Union with England and Wales was seen as a betrayal by many (including Burns) and was followed by two famously unsuccessful Jacobite uprisings to restore a Scottish throne. Scotland's leaders, whether its Royal family, its politicians or its commercial leaders, had all appeared to fail its people. The country looked elsewhere for inspiration.There was a growing feeling that hope lay not with the establishment or the aristocracy, but among the common people. Then, out of the Ayrshire countryside, a young farmer with little formal education produced a book of poetry, chiefly in the Scots dialect, with such passion, wit and power that the country went wild for him. His book was so well received that Burns set out for Edinburgh. It took Burns three days to make the journey, partly because his fame had preceded him to the extent that at every inn and farm he passed people wanted to hear him recite or else to test his capacity for drink. On arriving in Edinburgh, he soon found himself the showpiece of many fashionable parties (although he sometimes resented this, comparing himself unfavourably to the "intelligent pig" that featured in a popular Edinburgh sideshow).

While in Edinburgh, Burns not only published new editions of his poetry, but also made a number of tours of Scotland and began working on one of his most significant projects, collecting traditional Scots songs and tunes for "The Scots Musical Museum" (published by James Johnson). Through his work for Johnson and others, Burns collected and revised several hundred songs and tunes that may well have been lost otherwise. Many of these were to inspire work by composers such as Beethoven and Haydn. Through his efforts both writing and collecting, Burns helped to generate an interest in Scottish culture across Europe that would eventually spread across the world. While touring Scotland, Burns would often compose on horseback, in the field, by some beautiful landmark or while seated in an alehouse. The spontaneous nature of his writing is reflected in artefacts such as windowpanes inscribed with verse by Burns, now held in Burns Cottage Museum.

Despite his popularity, the life of a writer was no guarantor of fortune and Burns was conscious of the fickle nature of some of the new-found "friendships" he made in Edinburgh. Needing to continue to earn a living, Burns secured a position with the Excise (with the help of some of his friends) and, following a brief return to Ayrshire, where his marriage to Jean Armour was eventually officially recognised, in 1788 Burns moved with Jean to a farm at Ellisland near Dumfries. Burns continued to write while at Ellisland and at Dumfries, where he moved in 1791, and also to make tours of the Scottish Borders. He also worked actively as an exciseman, securing promotion, partly due to his particularly canny ability to get fines from wealthier defaulters. During his time in Dumfries, Burns became increasingly involved in politics, writing some of his best known political works such as "Scots Wha Hae" and "Is there for Honest Poverty". Burns expressed sympathy for the aims of the 1789 French Revolution, although, in 1795, he was quick to help organise a local militia against a threat of possible invasion by France.

Burns' health began to decline increasingly as the new century approached. Bouts of rheumatic fever indicated the lasting damage done to his body by his early toils. On July 21, 1796, Robert Burns died, probably from Endocarditis contracted as a boy. Thousands attended his funeral. On the fifth anniversary of his death, in 1801, the first ever Burns Supper was held by a small group of friends in the cottage in Alloway where he had been born. Within a short span of years, Burns Clubs had begun to spring up across Scotland and the Burns Supper became established as a regular event on 25 January each year; Burns anniversary.