Epitaph on a Henpecked Country Squire

Epitaph on a Henpecked Country Squire - meaning Summary

Domestic Rule and Folly

Burns presents a sharp, humorous epitaph that compresses a whole domestic life into a moralizing joke. The speaker blames a man’s folly and a woman’s rule for the deceased squire’s fate, tracing it back to Adam’s original mistake to suggest a repeating pattern. The short lines and blunt claim turn the grave inscription into satire: the dead man is remembered not for accomplishments but for being dominated at home. The poem exposes gendered blame and social mockery in a compact, ironic couplet.