Tam o' Shanter is a farmer and the main character in the poem, which begins at the end of a market day in the town of Ayr, and goes on to weave in a traditional tale of ghosts and witches. Tam and his neighbours are enjoying themselves in the pubs, getting “fu and unco happy.”

Burns continues with a marvellously colourful description of Tam and his drinking habits. Tam's wife has told him that he is a "blethering, blustering, drunken blellum" that is drunk every single market day from "November till October", but that has not made much impression on him. In the pub, he is enjoying the cheerful company of his cronies, especially Souter Johnnie;

"Tam lo'ed him like a very brither;
They had been fou for weeks thegither."

However, time is flying, the evening is growing late and it is soon time to leave;

"Nae man can tether Time nor Tide,
That hour approaches Tam maun ride"

The story continues with Tam riding somewhat unsteadily home on his grey mare Meg or Maggie. He comes to the old Kirk of Alloway which is abandoned, and there he sees lights in all the windows and hears music. He has had quite a few drinks and is feeling brave so he climbs up in order to look through a window into the church and there he sees a terrible sight. All the coffins are open and the dead are lying there in their funeral clothes. Sitting on the communion table is "Old Nick" or the devil playing the fiddle furiously. The church is full of witches and warlocks who are dancing wildly to the music, which gets even faster and more furious. All the dancers are pretty ugly but there is one young witch who has not yet lost her looks. She is wearing a short petticoat or “cutty sark” and Tam calls her Nannie. After watching for a while, Tam is so engrossed in the spectacle that he forgets where he is and suddenly shouts out “Weel done, Cutty Sark” and ...

Burns finishes off with a warning to all men.

You will find the complete text of the poem here, Rabbie Burns Poems.

Translation

Use the dictionary http://www.scots-online.org/dictionary/ to translate the beginning of the poem into Standard English. Compare and comment on the two versions. What effect does the language have on the atmosphere created in the poem?

Analysis

Use the excerpts above to answer the following questions.

1. What in this poem is characteristic of the Romantic Period?
2. What type of poem is this?
3. Who is speaking in the poem?
4. What about the rhyme and rhythm? Does this vary in different parts of the poem? (Watch and listen to the videos)