There Was Twa Wives
written in 1792
There Was Twa Wives - meaning Summary
Rural Ribald Domestic Scene
This short, comic Scots poem narrates a bawdy episode in which two clever wives meet, one (Maggie) abruptly departs and repeatedly passes gas while hurrying past farm buildings. The language is plain, earthy, and dialectal, and the scene is rendered through vivid, physical detail that foregrounds rural life, female rivalry, and low comedy. Rather than moralizing, the poem delights in bodily humor and social familiarity, using vivid action to portray character and to invite laughter at everyday embarrassment within a communal, agrarian setting.
Read Complete AnalysesThere was twa wives, and twa witty wives, As e'er play'd houghmagandie, And they coost oot, upon a time, Out o'er a drink o brandy; Up Maggie rose, and forth she goes, And she leaves auld Mary flytin, And she farted by the byre-en' For she was gaun a shiten. She farted by the byre-en', She farted by the stable; And thick and nimble were her steps As fast as she was able: Till at yon dyke-back the hurly brak, But raxin for some dockins, The beans and pease cam down her thighs, And she cackit a' her stockins.
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