Tam O’ShanterBy Robert Burns

What is Tam O’Shanter? Tam O’Shanter is a poem written by Robert

Burns The name O’Shanter comes from the old

Scottish word ‘mishanter’ meaning bad luck or misfortune

The poem is a mixture of English and the Scots dialect

It was written in 1790 and first published in 1791

What is the poem about?

Tam is a farmer who gets drunk and leaves the pub to go home on his horse called Meg

On the way home he sees a haunted church lit up with witches dancing and the devil playing bagpipes

Tam decides to go into the church, Allway Kirk, to watch them and sees a pretty witch in a short dress so shouts “Cutty Sark” which means short skirt in Scots

He is noticed and all dancing and music stop then the witches chase him and Meg to the river

The witches cannot cross the water but as Meg approaches the river they pull her tail off

Karen Dunbar http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1TpgoqHWbE

When chapman billies leave the street,

And drouthy neibors, neibors, meet;

As market days are wearing late,

And folk begin to tak the gate,

While we sit bousing at the nappy,

An' getting fou and unco happy,

We think na on the lang Scots miles,

The mosses, 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.

This truth fand honest Tam o' ShanterAs he frae Ayr ae

night did canter(Auld Ayr, wham ne'er a town surpasses

For honest men and bonny lasses).

O Tam! had'st thou but been sae wiseAs ta'en thy ain wife

Kate's advice!She tauld thee weel thou was a skellumA

blethering, blustering, drunken blellumThat frae November

till OctoberAe market-day thou was nae soberThat ilka

melder wi' the millerThou sat as Lang as thou had siller

That ev'ry naig was ca'd a shoe onThe smith and thee gat

roaring fou onThat at the Lord's house, even on Sunday

Thou drank wi' Kirkton Jean till MondayShe prophesied,

that, late or soonThou would be found deep drown'd in

DoonOr catch'd wi' warlocks in the mirkBy Alloway's auld,

haunted kirk

Ah, gentle dames! it gars me greetTo think how mony

counsels sweetHow mony lengthen'd sage advicesThe

husband frae the wife despises!

http://myths.e2bn.org/mythsandlegends/playstory870-the-legend-of-tam-o-shanter.html