.gif)
Tam o' Shanter (Burns poem)
Encyclopedia
"Tam o' Shanter" is a poem written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns
in 1790. Many consider it to be one of the best examples of the narrative poem
in modern European literature
.
First published in 1791, it is one of Burns's longer poems, and employs a mixture of Scots
and English
. It tells the story of a man who stayed too long at a public house
and witnessed a disturbing vision on his way home.
The name is often misspelled "Tam O'Shanter", by mistaking "o'", a contraction of "of", for the Irish
patronymic
prefix
"O'".
The poem begins:
After Burns has located us geographically:
(a quote that gave Ayr United F.C.
their nickname "the honest men"), Tam sits and drinks with his friends, and the reader is regaled with a dark prophecy of Tam's wife Kate:
Tam's wife, Kate, is portrayed as an authority to be feared. Then:
Tam continues to drink and even flirts with the landlady of the pub. Eventually he mounts up and rides off on his grey mare Meg, for his long, dark, lonely ride home. Burns emphasises the spooky character of the Ayrshire
countryside Tam has to ride through—but of course it is much easier as he is drunk:
With the scene set, suddenly: "wow! Tam saw an unco sight!"
The sight he sees is Alloway Kirk
, ablaze with light, where a weird hallucinatory dance involving witches and warlock
s, open coffins and even the Devil
himself is in full swing. The scene is told with grimly enthusiastic gothic attention to detail. Tam manages to watch silently until, the dancing witches having cast off most of their clothes, he is beguiled by one particularly comely female witch, Nannie, whose shirt (cutty-sark) is too small for her. He cannot help shouting out in passion:
The devil decides to follow Tam, but the evident pride in the ability of his horse is justified as she is able to help him to "win the key-stone o' the brig". (The Devil, Witches and warlocks cannot cross running water.)
They only just make it though, as Nannie, first among the "hellish legion" chasing, grabs the horse's tail, which comes off.
In fine, tongue-in-cheek moralistic mode, the poem concludes:
's Antiquities of Scotland, for which it was written. Robert Riddell
introduced Burns to Grose. According to Gilbert Burns, the poet asked the antiquarian to include a drawing of Alloway Kirk when he came to Ayrshire, and Grose agreed, as long as Burns would give him something to print with it.
Burns wrote to Grose in June 1790, giving him three witch stories associated with Alloway Kirk
, two of which he said were "authentic", the third, "though equally true, being not so well identified as the two former with regard to the scene". The second of the stories was, in fact, Tam o' Shanter. This is Burns' prose sketch of it to Grose:
Thus began what was to be one of Burns' most sustained poetic efforts.
The story that the poem was written in a day was perpetrated by John Gibson Lockhart
, aided by Allan Cunningham
. Its subtle nuances of tempo, pace and tone suggest that it had been given, as Burns told Mrs Dunlop on 11 April 1791, "a finishing polish that I despair of ever excelling".
It is said that Tam is based on one Douglas Graham, a statement made by Burns during a visit to Sir William Cunninghame at Robertland House
.
A handwritten note on the manuscript written by Judge Alexander Fraser Tytler
, reads "Burns left out these four lines at my desire, as being incongruous with the other circumstances of pure horror." Burns had the lines removed from later editions. It was not unknown for Burns to make changes at the request of friends.
The name of the tea clipper Cutty Sark
refers to the short shirt worn by Nannie: the ship's figurehead depicts the witch with the horse's tail hanging from her outstretched hand.
George Métivier
published Tam au Sabbat, a Guernésiais version of Burns' poem, in La Gazette de Guernesey in 1855. This version was included in his collection Fantaisies guernesiaises in 1866.
Malcolm Arnold
's Overture Op. 51a was named "Tam o' Shanter" after Burns' poem.
Robert Burns
Robert Burns was a Scottish poet and a lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland, and is celebrated worldwide...
in 1790. Many consider it to be one of the best examples of the narrative poem
Narrative poetry
Narrative poetry is poetry that has a plot. The poems that make up this genre may be short or long, and the story it relates to may be simple or complex. It is usually nondramatic, with objective regular scheme and meter. Narrative poems include epics, ballads, idylls and lays.Some narrative...
in modern European literature
European literature
European literature refers to the literature of Europe.European literature includes literature in many languages; among the most important of the modern written works are those in English, Spanish, French, Dutch, Polish, German, Italian, Modern Greek, Czech and Russian and works by the...
.
First published in 1791, it is one of Burns's longer poems, and employs a mixture of Scots
Scots language
Scots is the Germanic language variety spoken in Lowland Scotland and parts of Ulster . It is sometimes called Lowland Scots to distinguish it from Scottish Gaelic, the Celtic language variety spoken in most of the western Highlands and in the Hebrides.Since there are no universally accepted...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. It tells the story of a man who stayed too long at a public house
Public house
A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...
and witnessed a disturbing vision on his way home.
The name is often misspelled "Tam O'Shanter", by mistaking "o'", a contraction of "of", for the Irish
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
patronymic
Patronymic
A patronym, or patronymic, is a component of a personal name based on the name of one's father, grandfather or an even earlier male ancestor. A component of a name based on the name of one's mother or a female ancestor is a matronymic. Each is a means of conveying lineage.In many areas patronyms...
prefix
Prefix
A prefix is an affix which is placed before the root of a word. Particularly in the study of languages,a prefix is also called a preformative, because it alters the form of the words to which it is affixed.Examples of prefixes:...
"O'".
Summary
When chapmanChapmenA chapman was an itinerant dealer or hawker in early modern Britain.-Etymology:Old English céapmann was the regular term for "dealer, seller", cognate to the synonymous Dutch koopman....
billies leave the street,
And drouthyThirstThirst is the craving for fluids, resulting in the basic instinct of animals to drink. It is an essential mechanism involved in fluid balance. It arises from a lack of fluids and/or an increase in the concentration of certain osmolites, such as salt...
neibors, neibors, meet;
As market days are wearing late,
And folk begin to tak the gate,
While we sit bousing at the nappyAleAle is a type of beer brewed from malted barley using a warm fermentation with a strain of brewers' yeast. The yeast will ferment the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste...
,
An' getting fou and unco happy,
We think na on the lang Scots miles,
The mossesWetlandA wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
, waters, slaps and stiles,
That lie between us and our hame,
Where sits our sulky, sullen dame,
Gathering her brows like gathering storm,
Nursing her wrath to keep it warm.
After Burns has located us geographically:
(Auld AyrAyrAyr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...
, wham ne'er a town surpasses,
For honest men and bonnie lasses).
(a quote that gave Ayr United F.C.
Ayr United F.C.
Ayr United Football Club are a Scottish association football team based in Ayr, South Ayrshire, that plays in the First Division of the Scottish Football League. Formed in 1910 after the merger of former clubs Ayr Parkhouse F.C. and Ayr F.C...
their nickname "the honest men"), Tam sits and drinks with his friends, and the reader is regaled with a dark prophecy of Tam's wife Kate:
She prophesied that late or soon,
Thou wad be found, deep drown'd in DoonRiver DoonThe River Doon is a river in South Ayrshire, Scotland. The river flows 23 miles from Loch Doon, joining the Firth of Clyde just south of Ayr. Its course is generally north-westerly, passing near to the town of Dalmellington, and through the villages of Patna, Dalrymple, and Alloway, birthplace...
,
Or catch'd wi' warlocks in the mirk,
By Alloway'sAllowayAlloway is best known as the birthplace of Robert Burns, and as where he set his poem "Tam o' Shanter"....
auld, haunted kirk.
Tam's wife, Kate, is portrayed as an authority to be feared. Then:
Ah, gentle dames! it gars me greet,
To think how mony counsels sweet,
How mony lengthen'd, sage advices,
The husband frae the wife despises!
Tam continues to drink and even flirts with the landlady of the pub. Eventually he mounts up and rides off on his grey mare Meg, for his long, dark, lonely ride home. Burns emphasises the spooky character of the Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
countryside Tam has to ride through—but of course it is much easier as he is drunk:
Inspiring bold John BarleycornJohn Barleycorn"John Barleycorn" is an English folksong. The character of John Barleycorn in the song is a personification of the important cereal crop barley and of the alcoholic beverages made from it, beer and whisky...
!
What dangers thou canst make us scorn!
Wi' tippenny, we fear nae evil;
Wi' usquabaeWhiskyWhisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Different grains are used for different varieties, including barley, malted barley, rye, malted rye, wheat, and corn...
, we'll face the devil!
With the scene set, suddenly: "wow! Tam saw an unco sight!"
The sight he sees is Alloway Kirk
Alloway Kirk
The old Alloway Kirk is a ruin in Alloway, South Ayrshire, Scotland , celebrated as the scene of the witches' dance in the poem Tam o' Shanter by Robert Burns....
, ablaze with light, where a weird hallucinatory dance involving witches and warlock
Warlock
The term warlock in origin means "traitor, oathbreaker".In early modern Scots, the word came to be used as the male equivalent of witch ....
s, open coffins and even the Devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
himself is in full swing. The scene is told with grimly enthusiastic gothic attention to detail. Tam manages to watch silently until, the dancing witches having cast off most of their clothes, he is beguiled by one particularly comely female witch, Nannie, whose shirt (cutty-sark) is too small for her. He cannot help shouting out in passion:
Weel done, Cutty-sark!
And in an instant all was dark:
The devil decides to follow Tam, but the evident pride in the ability of his horse is justified as she is able to help him to "win the key-stone o' the brig". (The Devil, Witches and warlocks cannot cross running water.)
They only just make it though, as Nannie, first among the "hellish legion" chasing, grabs the horse's tail, which comes off.
In fine, tongue-in-cheek moralistic mode, the poem concludes:
Now, wha this tale o' truth shall read,
Ilk man and mother's son, take heed:
Whene'er to Drink you are inclin'd,
Or Cutty-sarksShirtA shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body. Originally an undergarment worn exclusively by men, it has become, in American English, a catch-all term for almost any garment other than outerwear such as sweaters, coats, jackets, or undergarments such as bras, vests or base layers...
rin in your mind,
Think ye may buy the joys o'er dear;
Remember Tam o' Shanter's mare
Background
The poem first appeared in the Edinburgh Magazine for March 1791, a month before it appeared in the second volume of Francis GroseFrancis Grose
Francis Grose was an English antiquary, draughtsman, and lexicographer. He was born at his father's house in Broad Street, St-Peter-le-Poer, London, son of a Swiss immigrant and jeweller, Francis Jacob Grose , and his wife, Anne , daughter of Thomas Bennett of Greenford in Middlesex...
's Antiquities of Scotland, for which it was written. Robert Riddell
Robert Riddell
Captain Robert Riddell , was Laird of Friar's Carse, near Dumfries, Scotland, and a friend of Robert Burns, who made him a collection of his poems which later became famous, and wrote a poem 'Sonnet On The Death Of Robert Riddell' in memory of him when he died.The Glenriddell Manuscripts were...
introduced Burns to Grose. According to Gilbert Burns, the poet asked the antiquarian to include a drawing of Alloway Kirk when he came to Ayrshire, and Grose agreed, as long as Burns would give him something to print with it.
Burns wrote to Grose in June 1790, giving him three witch stories associated with Alloway Kirk
Alloway Kirk
The old Alloway Kirk is a ruin in Alloway, South Ayrshire, Scotland , celebrated as the scene of the witches' dance in the poem Tam o' Shanter by Robert Burns....
, two of which he said were "authentic", the third, "though equally true, being not so well identified as the two former with regard to the scene". The second of the stories was, in fact, Tam o' Shanter. This is Burns' prose sketch of it to Grose:
On a market-day, in the town of Ayr, a farmer from CarrickCarrick, ScotlandCarrick is a former comital district of Scotland which today forms part of South Ayrshire.-History:The word Carrick comes from the Gaelic word Carraig, meaning rock or rocky place. Maybole was the historic capital of Carrick. The county was eventually combined into Ayrshire which was divided...
, and consequently whose way lay by the very gate of Alloway kirk-yard, in order to cross the River DoonRiver DoonThe River Doon is a river in South Ayrshire, Scotland. The river flows 23 miles from Loch Doon, joining the Firth of Clyde just south of Ayr. Its course is generally north-westerly, passing near to the town of Dalmellington, and through the villages of Patna, Dalrymple, and Alloway, birthplace...
, at the old bridge, which is almost two or three hundred yards farther on than the said old gate, had been detained by his business till by the time he reached Alloway it was the wizard hour, between night and morning.
Though he was terrified with a blaze streaming from the kirk, yet as it is a well known fact, that to turn back on these occasions is running by far the greatest risk of mischief, he prudently advanced on his road. When he had reached the gate of the kirk-yard, he was surprised and entertained, thorough the ribs and arches of an old gothic window which still faces the highway, to see a dance of witches merrily footing it round their old sooty black-guard master, who was keeping them all alive with the power of his bagpipe. The farmer stopping his horse to observe them a little, could plainly desern the faces of many old women of his acquaintance and neighbourhood. How the gentleman was dressed, tradition does not say; but the ladies were all in their smocks; and one of them happening unluckily to have a smock which was considerably too short to answer all the purpose of that piece of dress, our farmer was so tickled that he involuntarily burst out, with a loud laugh, 'Weel luppen, Maggy wi' the short sark!' and recollecting himself, instantly spurred his horse to the top of his speed. I need not mention the universally known fact, that no diabolical power can pursue you beyond the middle of a running stream. Lucky it was for the poor farmer that the river Doon was so near, for notwithstanding the speed of his horse, which was a good one, against he reached the middle of the arch of the bridge and consequently the middle of the stream, the pursuing, vengeful hags were so close at his heels, that one of them actually sprung to seize him: but it was too late; nothing was on her side of the stream but the horse's tail, which immediately gave way to her infernal grip, as if blasted by a stroke of lightning; but the farmer was beyond her reach. However, the unsightly, tailless condition of the vigorous steed was to the last hours of the noble creature's life, an awful warning to the Carrick farmers, not to stay too late in Ayr markets.
Thus began what was to be one of Burns' most sustained poetic efforts.
The story that the poem was written in a day was perpetrated by John Gibson Lockhart
John Gibson Lockhart
John Gibson Lockhart , was a Scottish writer and editor. He is best known as the author of the definitive "Life" of Sir Walter Scott...
, aided by Allan Cunningham
Allan Cunningham
Allan Cunningham was a Scottish poet and author.He was born at Keir, near Dalswinton, Dumfriesshire, and first worked as a stonemason's apprentice. His father was a neighbour of Robert Burns at Ellisland, and Allan with his brother James visited James Hogg, the "Ettrick shepherd", who became a...
. Its subtle nuances of tempo, pace and tone suggest that it had been given, as Burns told Mrs Dunlop on 11 April 1791, "a finishing polish that I despair of ever excelling".
It is said that Tam is based on one Douglas Graham, a statement made by Burns during a visit to Sir William Cunninghame at Robertland House
Castle and Barony of Robertland
The Castle and Barony of Robertland is located near Stewarton, off the B769 road, in the old district of Cunninghame, Parish of Stewarton, and now part of East Ayrshire, Scotland.-Robertland castle and barony:...
.
Revision
An early version of the poem includes four lines which were deleted at the request of one of Burns' friends—a judge. The poem originally contained the lines:
Three lawyers' tongues, turn'd inside out,
Wi' lies seam'd like a beggar's clout;
Three priests' hearts, rotten black as muck,
Lay stinking, vile in every neuk.
A handwritten note on the manuscript written by Judge Alexander Fraser Tytler
Alexander Fraser Tytler
Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee was a Scottish lawyer, writer, and professor. Tytler was also a historian, and for some years was Professor of Universal History, and Greek and Roman Antiquities, in the University of Edinburgh. Tytler's other titles included Senator of the College of...
, reads "Burns left out these four lines at my desire, as being incongruous with the other circumstances of pure horror." Burns had the lines removed from later editions. It was not unknown for Burns to make changes at the request of friends.
Cultural depictions
The Tam o' Shanter cap is named after the poem.The name of the tea clipper Cutty Sark
Cutty Sark
The Cutty Sark is a clipper ship. Built in 1869, she served as a merchant vessel , and then as a training ship until being put on public display in 1954...
refers to the short shirt worn by Nannie: the ship's figurehead depicts the witch with the horse's tail hanging from her outstretched hand.
George Métivier
George Métivier
George Métivier was a Guernsey poet dubbed the "Guernsey Burns", and sometimes considered the island's national poet. He wrote in Guernésiais, which is the indigenous language of the island. Among his poetical works are Rimes Guernesiaises published in 1831...
published Tam au Sabbat, a Guernésiais version of Burns' poem, in La Gazette de Guernesey in 1855. This version was included in his collection Fantaisies guernesiaises in 1866.
Malcolm Arnold
Malcolm Arnold
Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, CBE was an English composer and symphonist.Malcolm Arnold began his career playing trumpet professionally, but by age thirty his life was devoted to composition. He was ranked with Benjamin Britten as one of the most sought-after composers in Britain...
's Overture Op. 51a was named "Tam o' Shanter" after Burns' poem.
External links
- http://www.gutenberg.org/files/1279/1279-h/1279-h.htm#2H_4_0316Full text of the poem from Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
].