They say that imitation is the highest form of flattery, but what of satire? Tam O" Shanter by Robert Burns is considered by many to be a mock epic due to Burns's skillful use, manipulation, and exaggeration of the conventions inherent to epic poetry. In his day this satire was considered to be an attack on both the literary form known as the epic, but more so an assault on the stringent guidelines for poetry set forth by Burns's NeoClassicist predecessors. Burns was a common man who found beauty and delight in both the world and language considered to be common place. So what better form or place to express this idea than in a realm previously reserved for only that which is considered extraordinary.
Burns mocks almost every facet of epic poetry in Tam O" Shanter. The first and foremost convention to be mocked is the epic hero. The epic hero is a man of extraordinary and often times super human capabilities in nearly all areas of the human condition: strength, looks, intelligence, virtue, etc Tam O" Shanter is a lecherous and drunk old man, whose most valuable possession is an old nag of a horse. Hardly does Tam measure up to the standard of the epic hero. .
Burns also makes a mockery of the epic convention of cataloging. He uses hyperbole as a device for added effect. Instead of making vast lists of priceless treasures and extraordinary gifts, he instead makes seemingly endless lists of gruesome murder weapons and things not befitting the inclusion in "epic" poetry. .
In addition Burns mocks the convention of the tragic flaw or moral lesson that is inherent to most works of epic poetry. Tam O" Shanter does not contain a single flaw that may one day lead to his downfall. He is rife with them! What is the price that he pays for all of these gaping character defects? His life? His family? His Home? None of the above it would seem. Instead, the only thing he loses is his horse's tail.
