Morality in Holy Willies Prayer and Tam O Shanter - Research Paper Example

?Morality and Immorality in Holy Willie’s Prayer and Tam O’ Shanter Robert Burns, who is considered as the greatest poet Scotland has ever produced, is known his sarcasm when it comes to the issues of morality and immorality. While the subjects that he dealt with in his poems are serious concerns, he managed to inject humor in the lines and stanzas that he writes. This may be attributed to his own personal convictions as regards morality and religion. However, his style of writing which is typically Scottish may be a factor also in the light manner that he treated the subjects of his poetry. Burns had also written in English and it is in this medium that he is more blunt and direct. There are two particular poems that he wrote which clearly exemplify the sarcastic and humorous tone of his style. These are Holy Willie’s Prayer and Tom O’ Shanter. What makes this poem important though is not just that these are prime examples of Burns’ humor-laden writing style. The said poems also provide proof of Burns’ personal perspectives on morality and immorality, as well as the role of religion these matters. The background of Holy Willie’s Prayer alone would already provide a glimpse of how Burns despised hypocrisy, especially if this is committed by men who belong to the church or the ‘kirk’ in 18th century Scotland. The poem is about a real character named William Fisher, a leader of the local church in Mauchline where Burns had stayed. Fisher, with whom Burns shared mutual hate, is described as a “bigoted elder of the Kirk, who with considerable eloquence and the conceit of the humorless, exposes himself as a canting hypocrite” (Head 527). The title of the poem dedicated to him by Burns is already one that actually reeks of sarcasm. The emphasis on the word ‘holy’ comes as a paradox because at the end of the poem, Fisher is portrayed to be asking God to punish his detractors with the lines that disregards the basic Christian concepts of mercy and forgiveness. Lord, in Thy day o’ vengeance try him, Lord, visit them wha did employ him, And pass not in Thy mercy by them, Nor hear them their pray’r, But for Thy people's sake destroy them, An’ dinna spare. Holy Willie’s Prayer actually paints a picture of a man, who is expected by many to set the example of how Christians should treat each other, turn out to be just as sinful and immoral as those he may have despised. It is clear that Burns disliked so much how Fisher had behaved as a churchman, whom the parishioners consider to be near infallible and holy when he is actually committing the same immoralities that he preaches against. There are lines in the poem that actually described Fisher’s own improprieties. O Lord! yestreen, Thou kens, wi’ Meg --  Thy pardon I sincerely beg --  O, may’t ne’er be a living plague  To my dishonour!  An’ I'll ne’er lift a lawless leg  Again upon her.  Burns, however, does not criticize Fisher for committing these human frailties. In a very sarcastic tone, he highlights the fact that despite these shortcomings, Fisher still managed to pray that he be forgiven for these ‘minor’ infractions. While he asks mercy, Fisher instead prays to God that his detractors are spared from it and are punished for persecuting him. As it turns out, Willie Fisher’s prayer is basically a portrayal of how a man of the church treats God as a superior that would listen to his pleas more because he is part of the church hierarchy and not for its merits or demerits. The poem provides a picture of Fisher “down on his knees, praying to his God, whom he addresses familiarly as if God were a senior official in the church” (Gerrard 384). Without putting it into words, Burns depicts a situation where the church is actually isolated from the rest of the people, including its laity. The isolation stems from the notion that those who are part of the church hierarchy are not equal with those outside of it, even if they are Christians too. The concept presented in the poem is that God is prone to be more considerate of the men of the cloth, even if they commit immoral acts, and more spiteful of those who did the same sins but are not part of the church hierarchy. William Fisher as an individual may be the subject of the poem. However, Burns was actually not targeting Fisher alone but the general attitude of a religious institution towards morality and immorality. In the poem, Fisher actually admitted before God that he committed sins but he did not even dwell much on his own guilt but rather on the external factors, such as the acts of Leezie’s girl. However, Fisher is not the only target that Burns wished to attack through his verses. His “real target was the kirk itself and all that it stood for in his eyes” (Fowler 67). This idea may indeed give the impression that Burns was anti-clerical. There are no evidences that would basically lead to such conclusion. However, it was clear that Burns was indeed very disappointed with the manner that the kirk in Mauchline was being handled. Holy Willie’s Prayer is stinging attack on how the kirk leadership tends to define morality and immorality through their subjective interpretation. Although they are just humans and, just like the rest, also have the tendency to sin, they have considered themselves to be exempted from the wrath of God towards the sinful. This hypocrisy clearly influences the kirk leadership’s definition of morality and immorality. In this regard, Burns insinuates that Willie Fisher and his kind are actually playing God instead. It is the kirk’s hierarchy that decides who sins and who does not and it is they who decide also what it immoral and what is not. Holy Willie’s Prayer clearly portrays Burns belief that in 18th century Scotland, the kirk or the church has the monopoly of morality and it is the only authority on the matter. While the poem does suggest that there is a difference between morality and immorality, the behavior of the church hierarchy tends to the blur the line distinguishing one from the other, a concept of Burns that definitely is not acceptable to the church leaders. Tom O’ Shanter is a poem that has caught the interest of the readers because of its entertainment factor. The poem, after all, is a story of a drunk, Tam O’ Shanter, who encountered a group of witches and who had to make an escape in order to make it home. Another perspective that that gives value to the poem is that it also highlights the mass culture of Scotland. Of course, supernatural beliefs are part of the culture of the Scottish rural folks during the era. However, at the start of the poem, the stanza is particularly devoted to the depiction of the typical pub, which may be considered as the very center of social life among the menfolk in the rural areas. When chapmen billies leave the street, And drouthy neibors, neibors meet, As market days are wearing late, An’ folk begin to tak the gate; While we sit bousing at the nappy, And getting fou and unco happy, We think na on the lang Scots miles, The mosses, waters, slaps, and styles, 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. The first six lines narrate how the menfolk, of which Tam O’ Shanter is a part, enjoy the end of a market day with ale. Even while they do this, they also think about their wives would react once they get home while drunk, which is what the last three lines actually depict. This apparently proves that in Scottish culture during the said era, it was normal for men to get drunk whenever they have money for the pubs despite the protestations of their wives. Once home, it was expected also that husbands would have ready answers to the questions of their wives why they got home late. Tom O’ Shanter is, in fact, “a sober man’s response to the demands of his wife for an explanation: he has come home drunk or hung over, riding in on his best ‘gray mare’ Meg, and the horse is missing its tail” (Riach 207). To some extent, Burns presents here the concept that the husband always owes his wife an explanation for what he has done. Because of this, it may appear that in the matrimonial relationship, it is the wife who may be the moral authority, at least, in the context of rural Scotland in the said era. There issue of morality and immorality is a contentious one not just between the church and the people as shown in Burns’ Holy Willie’s Prayer. It also affects the relationship between husband and wife as depicted in Tom O’ Shanter. The last stanza of the poem provides a glimpse of this fact. No, wha this tale o’ truth shall read, Ilk man and mother’s son take heed;  Whene’er to drink you are inclin’d,  Or cutty-sarks run in your mind,  Think! ye may buy joys o’er dear -  Remember Tam o’ Shanter’s mare. This stanza basically points out of the need for men to prepare a tall tale just to make provide an excuse for staying out late and getting home drunk. Apparently, the more horrifying part of the narrative poem only serves to further stoke the imagination of the audience and convince them of the excuse that Tam O’ Shanter is telling his wife. The bottom-line, however, is that the story that Tam is sharing to his wife is just an attempt to conceal his act which may be considered as immoral by her. The poem ultimately exposes the poet’s own views on what makes a man happy even if the church and, in this case, the wife also, finds this immoral or sinful. Tam O’ Shanter, in fact, was never remorseful for what he did. Whether he did encounter witches and the Devil or not, the manner that he tells his wife about the reasons why he was not able to go home earlier certainly proves that he did not feel guilt for what he did. From his drinking at the pub in Ayr to encounters at Alloway’s Church, Tam had “the best of both worlds - the World, the Flesh and the Devil and all the unalloyed ecstasy these supreme enchantments could bring a man” (Keith 97). If Burns’ description of the best that that world could offer is these, then it may indeed be safe to posit that his concept of morality and immorality are basically so much different from what most people of the 18th century Scotland had adhered to. This conception, however, may also be attributed to the poet’s dislike for the role of the church during the era as the only authority of morality. As a result, Tam O’ Shanter may actually be a protest written by Burns. It was meant to antagonize the church with his twisted brand of morality. Considering that Burns has been known for being satirical, this may not necessarily represent his real moral convictions though. However, it is also clear that in the poem, Burns’ negative views of marriage are articulated. It is Kate’s attitude that inspired Tam to indulge in drinking. Marriage is obviously an institution that Burns disdains and the “alternative to male blathering is often the celebration of physical pleasure” (Monnickendam 148). Burns record as a husband further proves though that he may have actually developed such concept of marriage, which others may think as immoral, especially in the historical context of an 18th century rural Scotland. Both the Holy Willie’s Prayer and Tam O’ Shanter are poems do not only present a striking contrast between morality and immorality of Scotland during era. These also expose the convictions of the author when it comes to such concerns. Works Cited Fowler, Richard Hindle. Robert Burns. London, UK: Routledge, 1988. Gerrard, Christine. A Companion to Eighteenth-Century Poetry. Malden, MA: Blackwell Pub., 2006. Head, Dominic. The Cambridge Guide to Literature in English. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Keith, Christina. The Russet Coat: A Critical Study of Burns’ Poetry and of its Background. New York, NY: Haskell House Publishers, 1971. Monnickendam, Andrew. “If there was a man who felt, it was Burns: Burns and Desire.” Robert Burns in Global Culture. Ed. by Murray Pittock. Lewisburg, PA: Bucknell University Press, 2011. Riach, Alan. “Macdiarmid’s Burns.” Robert Burns and Cultural Authority. Ed. by Robert Crawford. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press, 1997. Read More