"And there begins a lang digression about the lords o' the creation"

Robert Burns, in his unmistakable Scottish diction, embeds in this line a sharp, sly humor aimed at the conceit and preoccupations of men, particularly those who consider themselves superior by virtue of gender or social standing. The phrase “the lords o’ the creation” tastes of irony; it echoes a long-standing, somewhat tongue-in-cheek Biblical and colloquial notion that men, and especially men of rank, stand atop the natural and social order, imagining themselves as rulers over all other things and beings.

Burns frames a “lang digression” as commencing on this subject, invoking the habit of men, and writers, of straying off the main thread to pontificate on their own supposed importance. The length (“lang”) of the digression exaggerates the self-involvement and verbosity he’s lampooning. There’s a sense here of both literary playfulness and social satire; Burns is not only poking fun at the men who dominate conversation and society, but also sending up the tradition in literature and storytelling in which men position themselves at the center of creation.

Further, the phrase can be read as a gentle mockery of the idea that the male experience is the universal human one, worthy of endless digression and attention. The word “creation” calls up religious undertones, adding to the mock-epic air: these so-called “lords” assert their supremacy as if ordained, when in reality it is an assumption as fragile as it is grandiose.

The “digression” signals the tendency to let ego and self-importance sidetrack genuine discourse or poetic purpose. Burns humorously reminds readers of the propensity for men (and perhaps poets too) to wander off into self-satisfied musings, all while questioning the validity and worth of these detours. Ultimately, a sharp skepticism of hierarchical or self-proclaimed authority pervades the line, its humor undercutting any grand narrative of supremacy.