Tam O" Shanter and Morte D"Arthur are two narrative poems which are very different in style and subject matter. Tam O'Shanter is concerned with a friend of Burns" being worse for drink makes his way home on horseback, astride "Meg" his trusty stead. The tale describes Tam's thoughts as he travels the road on a wet & wild night. On passing the Auld Kirk (old church) at Alloway, he believes he has witnessed the Devil himself, hosting a wild party within the sacred building, together with witches & ghosts. The story is vivid in imagery and serves to remind the reader of the effects of over-indulgence in alcohol.On the other hand, Morte D"Arthur, written by Tennyson, is a rather more sombre poem with tone appropriate for the death of a great king with far greater use of literary techniques such as atmosphere and imagery, simply because they are more neccesary to add depth and romanticism to the Arthurian story.
Even from the outset, both poems, due to their entirely different subject matters, have different agendas. Tennyson creates a sombre mood for the death of a great king, and with that, the death of an era of chivalry and morality in his passing. Tennyson skillfully applies an ethereal and spiritual element to his writing, with the imagery of a "broken chancel" and a "broken cross." This increases our affinity with Arthur, and also gives us the sense of the passing of a martyr, and something God ordained. To an almost wholly Christian audience at that time, this would have added an air of authority to Arthur, even in his death, and a seriousness to his passing. The death of Arthur, and thus the death of the Round Table was a dark event, and therefore, the surroundings of his death are dark, "the winter sea" with the sea wind "singing shrill, chill, flakes or foam" does not evoke images of happiness. To reinforce this point, Tennyson contrasts Arthur's death with the lines "Which was my pride.
