Epistle to John Goldie, in Kilmarnock
O Gowdie, terror o’ the whigs,Dread o’ blackcoats and rev’rend wigs!Sour Bigotry, on her last legs,Girns an’ looks back,Wishing the ten Egyptian plaguesMay seize you quick.
Poor gapin’, glowrin’ Superstition!Wae’s me, she’s in a sad condition:Fye: bring Black Jock, her state physician,To see her water;Alas, there’s ground for great suspicionShe’ll ne’er get better.
Enthusiasm’s past redemption,Gane in a gallopin’ consumption:Not a’ her quacks, wi’ a’ their gumption,Can ever mend her;Her feeble pulse gies strong presumption,She’ll soon surrender.
Auld Orthodoxy lang did grapple,For every hole to get a stapple;But now she fetches at the thrapple,An’ fights for breath;Haste, gie her name up in the chapel,Near unto death.
It’s you an’ Taylor are the chiefTo blame for a’ this black mischief;
But, could the Lord’s ain folk get leave,A toom tar barrelAn’ twa red peats wad bring relief,And end the quarrel.
For me, my skill’s but very sma’,An’ skill in prose I’ve nane ava’;But quietlins-wise, between us twa,Weel may you speed!And tho’ they sud your sair misca’,Ne’er fash your head.
E’en swinge the dogs, and thresh them sicker!The mair they squeel aye chap the thicker;And still ’mang hands a hearty bickerO’ something stout;It gars an owthor’s pulse beat quicker,And helps his wit.
There’s naething like the honest nappy;Whare’ll ye e’er see men sae happy,Or women sonsie, saft an’ sappy,’Tween morn and morn,As them wha like to taste the drappie,In glass or horn?
I’ve seen me dazed upon a time,I scarce could wink or see a styme;Just ae half-mutchkin does me prime,—Ought less is little—Then back I rattle on the rhyme,As gleg’s a whittle.
Words in this poem 20
- bigotry n.
- The state of mind of a bigot; obstinate and unreasoning attachment of one's own belief and opinions, with narrow-minded intolerance of beliefs opposed to them. [Cf. F. bigoterie.]
- gane v. i.
- To yawn; to gape. [See Yawn.]
- gumption n.
- Capacity; shrewdness; common sense. [OE. gom, gome, attention; akin to AS. geómian, gyman, to regard, observe, gyme care, OS. gomean to heed, Goth. gaumjan to see, notice.]
- auld a.
- Old; as, Auld Reekie (old smoky), i. e., Edinburgh. [See Old.]
- orthodoxy n.
- Soundness of faith; a belief in the doctrines taught in the Scriptures, or in some established standard of faith; -- opposed to heterodoxy or to heresy. [Gr. orthodoxie. See Orthodox.]
- thrapple n.
- Windpipe; throttle. [Also thropple, corrupted fr. throttle.]
- folk n.
- In Anglo-Saxon times, the people of a group of townships or villages; a community; a tribe. [AS. folc; akin to D. volk, OS. & OHG. folk, G. volk, Icel. f, Sw. & Dan. folk, Lith. pulkas crowd, and perh. to E. follow.]
- toom a.
- Empty. [Obs. or Prov.Eng. & Scot.] Wyclif. [OE. tom, fr. Icel. tomr; akin to Dan. & Sw. tom, As. tome, adv. Cf. Teem to pour.]
- 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.]
- fash v. t.
- To vex; to tease; to trouble. [OF. faschier, F. f, to anger, vex; cf. Pr. fasticar, fastigar, fr. L. fastidium dilike. See Fastidious.]
- swinge n.
- The sweep of anything in motion; a swinging blow; a swing.
- thresh v. t.
- To beat out grain from, as straw or husks; to beat the straw or husk of (grain) with a flail; to beat off, as the kernels of grain; as, to thrash wheat, rye, or oats; to thrash over the old straw. [OE. , , to beat, AS. , ; akin to D. dorschen, OD. derschen, G. dreschen, OHG. dreskan, Icel. , Sw. tröska, Dan. tærske, Goth. , Lith. traszketi to rattle, Russ.]
- bicker v. i.
- To skirmish; to exchange blows; to fight. [OE. bikeren, perh. fr. Celtic; cf. W. bicra to fight, bicker, bicre conflict, skirmish; perh. akin to E. beak.]
- sappy a.
- Musty; tainted. [Cf. L. sapere to taste.]
- morn n.
- The first part of the day; the morning; -- used chiefly in poetry. [OE. morwen, morgen, AS. morgen; akin to D. morgen, OS. morgan, G. morgen, Icel. morginn, morgunn, Sw. morgon, Dan. morgen, Goth. maúrgins. Cf. Morrow, Morning.]
- scarce a.
- Not plentiful or abundant; in small quantity in proportion to the demand; not easily to be procured; rare; uncommon. [OE. scars, OF. escars, eschars, LL. scarpsus, for L. excerptus, p. p. of excerpere to pick out, and hence to contract, to shorten; ex (see Ex-) + carpere. See C]
- mutchkin n.
- A liquid measure equal to four gills, or an imperial pint.
- ought p. p.
- Was or were under obligation to pay; owed. [Orig. the preterit of the verb to owe. OE. oughte, aughte, ahte, AS. ahte. sq. root110. See Owe.]
- gleg a.
- Quick of perception; alert; sharp. Jamieson. [Icel. glöggr.]
- whittle n.
- A knife; esp., a pocket, sheath, or clasp knife. [OE. thwitel, fr. AS. pwitan to cut. Cf. Thwittle, Thwaite a piece of ground.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
Epistle to John Goldie, in Kilmarnock 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, Epistle to John Goldie, in Kilmarnock, in Poems and Songs (1786–1796), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1279, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/burns-poems/epistle-to-john-goldie-in-kilmarnock.html, id L02982.
Form and metre
Epistle to John Goldie, in Kilmarnock is 54 lines in 10 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 91%). 98% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.2 syllables. 27 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 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---- whigsA · wigsA · legs · back · plagues · quick
- 2 AAA-A- superstitionA · conditionA · physicianA · water · suspicionA · better
- 3 -AA-A- redemption · consumptionA · gumptionA · her · presumptionA · surrender
- 4 AAABAB grappleA · stappleA · thrappleA · breathB · chapelA · deathB
- 5 AA chiefA · mischiefA
- 8 AAA-A- sickerA · thickerA · bickerA · stout · quickerA · wit
- 9 AAAB-B nappyA · happyA · sappyA · mornB · drappie · hornB
- 10 AAABAB timeA · stymeA · primeA · littleB · rhymeA · whittleB
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 |
|---|---|---|
| O Gowdie, terror o’ the whigs, | 8 | ·/˘/˘··· |
| Dread o’ blackcoats and rev’rend wigs! | 8 | ········ |
| Sour Bigotry, on her last legs, | 8 | //˘˘···· |
| Girns an’ looks back, | 4 | ···· |
| Wishing the ten Egyptian plagues | 8 | /˘··˘/˘· |
| May seize you quick. | 4 | ···· |
| Poor gapin’, glowrin’ Superstition! | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Wae’s me, she’s in a sad condition: | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| Fye: bring Black Jock, her state physician, | 9 | ······˘/˘ |
| To see her water; | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Alas, there’s ground for great suspicion | 9 | ˘/····˘/˘ |
| She’ll ne’er get better. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Enthusiasm’s past redemption, | 9 | ˘/˘·˘·˘/˘ |
| Gane in a gallopin’ consumption: | 9 | ···/˘˘˘/˘ |
| Not a’ her quacks, wi’ a’ their gumption, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Can ever mend her; | 5 | ·/˘·· |
| Her feeble pulse gies strong presumption, | 9 | ·/˘···˘/˘ |
| She’ll soon surrender. | 5 | ··˘/˘ |
| Auld Orthodoxy lang did grapple, | 9 | ·/˘·˘··/˘ |
| For every hole to get a stapple; | 9 | ·/˘······ |
| But now she fetches at the thrapple, | 9 | ···/˘··/˘ |
| An’ fights for breath; | 4 | ···· |
| Haste, gie her name up in the chapel, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Near unto death. | 4 | ···· |
| It’s you an’ Taylor are the chief | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| To blame for a’ this black mischief; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| But, could the Lord’s ain folk get leave, | 8 | ········ |
| A toom tar barrel | 5 | ···/˘ |
| An’ twa red peats wad bring relief, | 8 | ······˘/ |
| And end the quarrel. | 5 | ···/˘ |
| For me, my skill’s but very sma’, | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| An’ skill in prose I’ve nane ava’; | 8 | ······/˘ |
| But quietlins-wise, between us twa, | 8 | ········ |
| Weel may you speed! | 4 | ···· |
| And tho’ they sud your sair misca’, | 8 | ········ |
| Ne’er fash your head. | 4 | ···· |
| E’en swinge the dogs, and thresh them sicker! | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| The mair they squeel aye chap the thicker; | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And still ’mang hands a hearty bicker | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| O’ something stout; | 4 | ·/˘· |
| It gars an owthor’s pulse beat quicker, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| And helps his wit. | 4 | ···· |
| There’s naething like the honest nappy; | 9 | ·····/˘/˘ |
| Whare’ll ye e’er see men sae happy, | 9 | ·······/˘ |
| Or women sonsie, saft an’ sappy, | 9 | ·/˘····/˘ |
| ’Tween morn and morn, | 4 | ···· |
| As them wha like to taste the drappie, | 9 | ········· |
| In glass or horn? | 4 | ···· |
| I’ve seen me dazed upon a time, | 8 | ········ |
| I scarce could wink or see a styme; | 8 | ········ |
| Just ae half-mutchkin does me prime,— | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Ought less is little— | 5 | ···/˘ |
| Then back I rattle on the rhyme, | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| As gleg’s a whittle. | 5 | ···/˘ |
Notes from the edition 3
Notes from The Complete Works of Robert Burns (Project Gutenberg #1279).
- Stanza 2, line 3 A later version of “I am a bard of no regard” in “The Jolly Beggars.”
- Stanza 4, line 5 Mr. Russell’s Kirk.—R. B.
- Stanza 5, line 1 Dr. Taylor of Norwich.—R. B.
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