Epitaph for William Nicol

Epitaph for William Nicol - form Summary

Mock Epitaph in Scots

This short piece takes the outward shape of an epitaph but subverts the usual reverence. Addressed to scavengers, it bluntly invites maggots to “feed on Nicol’s brain” while asserting that Nicol’s heart is uncorrupted. The form compresses insult and mockery into two brisk couplets, using plain, colloquial Scots diction to create a familiar, ribald tone rather than solemn commemoration. Read as a performative epitaph, the poem uses its funerary frame to amplify personal satire: the grave setting makes the insult feel both final and darkly comic.