A Tale
’Twas in that place o’ Scotland’s isle,That bears the name o’ auld King Coil,Upon a bonie day in June,When wearin’ thro’ the afternoon,Twa dogs, that were na thrang at hame,Forgather’d ance upon a time.
The first I’ll name, they ca’d him Caesar,Was keepit for His Honor’s pleasure:His hair, his size, his mouth, his lugs,Shew’d he was nane o’ Scotland’s dogs;But whalpit some place far abroad,Whare sailors gang to fish for cod.
His locked, letter’d, braw brass collarShew’d him the gentleman an’ scholar;But though he was o’ high degree,The fient a pride, nae pride had he;But wad hae spent an hour caressin,Ev’n wi’ al tinkler-gipsy’s messin:At kirk or market, mill or smiddie,Nae tawted tyke, tho’ e’er sae duddie,But he wad stan’t, as glad to see him,An’ stroan’t on stanes an’ hillocks wi’ him.
The tither was a ploughman’s collie—A rhyming, ranting, raving billie,Wha for his friend an’ comrade had him,And in freak had Luath ca’d him,After some dog in Highland Sang,Was made lang syne,—Lord knows how lang.
He was a gash an’ faithfu’ tyke,As ever lap a sheugh or dyke.His honest, sonsie, baws’nt faceAye gat him friends in ilka place;His breast was white, his touzie backWeel clad wi’ coat o’ glossy black;His gawsie tail, wi’ upward curl,Hung owre his hurdie’s wi’ a swirl.
Nae doubt but they were fain o’ ither,And unco pack an’ thick thegither;Wi’ social nose whiles snuff’d an’ snowkit;Whiles mice an’ moudieworts they howkit;Whiles scour’d awa’ in lang excursion,An’ worry’d ither in diversion;Until wi’ daffin’ weary grownUpon a knowe they set them down.An’ there began a lang digression.About the “lords o’ the creation.”
Words in this poem 17
- isle v. t.
- To cause to become an island, or like an island; to surround or encompass; to island.
- auld a.
- Old; as, Auld Reekie (old smoky), i. e., Edinburgh. [See Old.]
- afternoon n.
- The part of the day which follows noon, between noon and evening.
- forgather v. i.
- To convene; to gossip; to meet accidentally. Jamieson.
- shew n.
- Show. [Obs. except in shewbread.]
- braw a.
- Well-dressed; handsome; smart; brave; -- used of persons or their clothing, etc.; as, a braw lad.
- kirk n.
- A church or the church, in the various senses of the word; esp., the Church of Scotland as distinguished from other reformed churches, or from the Roman Catholic Church. Jamieson. [Scot.; cf. Icel. kirkja, of Greek origin. See Church.]
- tither n.
- One who collects tithes.
- ploughman n.
- One who plows, or who holds and guides a plow; hence, a husbandman. Chaucer.
- collie n.
- The Scotch shepherd dog. There are two breeds, the rough-haired and smooth-haired. It is remarkable for its intelligence, displayed especially in caring for flocks. [Gael. cuilean whelp, puppy, dog.]
- syne adv.
- Afterwards; since; ago. R. of Brunne. [See Since.]
- weel
- A kind of trap or snare for fish, made of twigs. Carew. [Prov. E. weel, weal, a wicker basket to catch eels; prob. akin to willow, and so called as made of willow twigs.]
- clad v.
- To clothe. Holland.
- swirl v. t.
- To whirl, or cause to whirl, as in an eddy. [Akin to Norw. svirla to whirl, freq. of sverra to whirl, Dan. svirre, G. schwirren to whiz, to buzz. *177. See Swarm, n.]
- fain v. t.
- To be glad ; to wish or desire.
- unco a.
- Unknown; strange, or foreign; unusual, or surprising; distant in manner; reserved. [Scot. The same word as E. uncouth.]
- whiles conj.
- During the time that; while. Chaucer. Fuller.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
A Tale is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems and Songs of Robert Burns, Project Gutenberg ebook #1279; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Robert Burns, A Tale, in Poems and Songs (1786–1796), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1279, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/burns-poems/a-tale.html, id L02998.
Form and metre
A Tale is 46 lines in 6 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 74% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 8.4 syllables. 10 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 9% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 --AA-- isle · coil · juneA · afternoonA · hame · time
- 3 AABBCCDDEE collarA · scholarA · degreeB · heB · caressinC · messinC · smiddieD · duddieD · himE · himE
- 4 --AABB collie · billie · himA · himA · sangB · langB
- 5 AABBCCDD tykeA · dykeA · faceB · placeB · backC · blackC · curlD · swirlD
- 6 AABBCCCCCC itherA · thegitherA · snowkitB · howkitB · excursionC · diversionC · grownC · downC · digressionC · creationC
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| ’Twas in that place o’ Scotland’s isle, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| That bears the name o’ auld King Coil, | 8 | ········ |
| Upon a bonie day in June, | 8 | ········ |
| When wearin’ thro’ the afternoon, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Twa dogs, that were na thrang at hame, | 8 | ········ |
| Forgather’d ance upon a time. | 8 | ········ |
| The first I’ll name, they ca’d him Caesar, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Was keepit for His Honor’s pleasure: | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| His hair, his size, his mouth, his lugs, | 8 | ········ |
| Shew’d he was nane o’ Scotland’s dogs; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| But whalpit some place far abroad, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| Whare sailors gang to fish for cod. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| His locked, letter’d, braw brass collar | 8 | ··/˘··/˘ |
| Shew’d him the gentleman an’ scholar; | 9 | ···/˘˘·/˘ |
| But though he was o’ high degree, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| The fient a pride, nae pride had he; | 8 | ········ |
| But wad hae spent an hour caressin, | 9 | ·····/··· |
| Ev’n wi’ al tinkler-gipsy’s messin: | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| At kirk or market, mill or smiddie, | 9 | ···/˘···· |
| Nae tawted tyke, tho’ e’er sae duddie, | 9 | ········· |
| But he wad stan’t, as glad to see him, | 9 | ········· |
| An’ stroan’t on stanes an’ hillocks wi’ him. | 9 | ·····/˘·· |
| The tither was a ploughman’s collie— | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| A rhyming, ranting, raving billie, | 9 | ·/˘/˘/˘/˘ |
| Wha for his friend an’ comrade had him, | 9 | ·····/··· |
| And in freak had Luath ca’d him, | 7 | ······· |
| After some dog in Highland Sang, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Was made lang syne,—Lord knows how lang. | 8 | ········ |
| He was a gash an’ faithfu’ tyke, | 8 | ········ |
| As ever lap a sheugh or dyke. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| His honest, sonsie, baws’nt face | 7 | ·/˘···· |
| Aye gat him friends in ilka place; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| His breast was white, his touzie back | 8 | ········ |
| Weel clad wi’ coat o’ glossy black; | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| His gawsie tail, wi’ upward curl, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Hung owre his hurdie’s wi’ a swirl. | 7 | ······· |
| Nae doubt but they were fain o’ ither, | 9 | ········· |
| And unco pack an’ thick thegither; | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Wi’ social nose whiles snuff’d an’ snowkit; | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| Whiles mice an’ moudieworts they howkit; | 9 | ········· |
| Whiles scour’d awa’ in lang excursion, | 9 | ·/····˘/˘ |
| An’ worry’d ither in diversion; | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Until wi’ daffin’ weary grown | 8 | ···/˘/˘· |
| Upon a knowe they set them down. | 8 | ········ |
| An’ there began a lang digression. | 9 | ··˘/··˘/˘ |
| About the “lords o’ the creation.” | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
Notes from the edition 1
Notes from The Complete Works of Robert Burns (Project Gutenberg #1279).
- Stanza 4, line 5 Luath, Cuchullin’s dog in Ossian’s “Fingal.”—R. B.
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