Tam o' Shanter (poem)

This article is about the poem by Robert Burns. For other uses, see Tam o' Shanter.

"Tam o' Shanter" is a narrative poem written by the Scottish poet Robert Burns in 1790, while living in Dumfries. First published in the second volume of Francis Grose's Antiquities of Scotland in 1791, at 228 (or 224) lines it is one of Burns' longer poems, and employs a mixture of Scots and English.

The poem describes the habits of Tam (a Scots nickname for Thomas), a farmer who often gets drunk with his friends in a public house in the Scottish town of Ayr, and his thoughtless ways, specifically towards his wife, who waits at home for him. After one late-night revel, following a market day, Tam rides home drunk on his horse Meg while a storm is brewing. On the way he sees the local haunted church of Alloway Kirk lit up, with witches and warlocks dancing and the Devil playing the bagpipes. He is amazed to see the place bedecked with gruesome objects, including gibbet irons and knives used to commit murders. The music intensifies as the witches dance and, seeing one witch in a short dress, Tam loses his reason and shouts, '"Weel done, cutty-sark!" ("weel": well; "cutty-sark": short shirt). Immediately, the lights go out, the music and dancing stop, and many of the creatures lunge after Tam, with the witches leading. Tam turns and flees, driving his horse towards the River Doon as the creatures dare not cross a running stream. The witches come close enough that they pull Meg's tail off just as she reaches the Brig o' Doon.

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