Burns was born in an era when the Scottish nation was facing foreign conquest. Therefore, his poems are full of radical ideas of democracy and freedom. Poets live in bankrupt rural areas and have close ties with poor peasants. His poems praised the beauty of his hometown and expressed the simple friendship and love of laborers. The Scots praised the national hero who resisted the British aggression and called on the people to fight for freedom. Two dog exposes the debauchery and shameless of the landlord class; Old Willie's prayers satirized the priest's hypocrisy. Famous lyric poems include Mary on the Plateau and The Past.