Poetry Review Robert Burns Tam O Shanter

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Probably the most famous Scottish dialect poem of all time this 1790 verse is funny, scary and a cautionary tale about the perils of excessive alcohol intake too. While his angry and saddened wife waits at home in increasing despair, Tam O'Shanter has gone several miles away to Ayr, on the Scottish coast to join his male friends in a night of heavy drinking. He was supposed to be home from the market but he has clearly spent the food money on booze. Only as it gets very late does Tam realize that he really should go home, so he gets on his horse, Meg and starts galloping for home. As he rides, a fierce storm rises and passing a notorious haunted and abandoned churchyard, Tam sees a coven of witches dancing waving around weapons used in various murders over the years. Tam is fascinated by the dance, for which Satan personally plays the bagpipe music. When a young witch strikes him as particularly attractive, Tam yells his appreciation of her short shirt (known from the poem as a Cutty Sark, after which the famous sailing ship takes its name). The witches realize they have been watched and give chase. Tam realizes his shout has given him away so he rides the horse as fast as he can towards a bridge over the river, knowing that witches cannot cross running water. Tam only just makes it to the bridge in time but one witch is able to pull his poor horse's tail off completely in an effort to stop him. The poem ends as he completes his ride safely. The poem carries some ambiguity. Is Tom really seeing the witches, having drunken visions or concocting a wild excuse to give to his wife to excuse his behaviour? We are not told. As well as naming the famous Tea Clipper, Cutty Sark, the poem also named a much loved Scottish bonnet, the Tam O'Shanter. It is a long poem, in rich dialect but a good reading like this one by Christopher Tait make it a sheer joy to listen to. Arthur Chappell Cutty Sark,