[1][2] He adopted the lengthy Spenserian stanza form from Robert Fergusson's similarly themed 1773 poem "The Farmer's Ingle" to allow space to evoke his pastoral scene.

(lines 8-9) On a cold Saturday evening in November, a Scottish cotter—a peasant farmer who labours in return for the right to live in a cottage—returns home to his family ahead of the Sabbath.

His wife and numerous children gather round the fire to share their news, while he gives out fatherly advice and admonition based on Christian teachings.

From scenes like these, old Scotia's grandeur springs, That makes her lov'd at home, rever'd abroad (lines 163-4) "The Cotter's Saturday Night" has inspired numerous works of art and literature.

The Scottish painter John Faed produced a series of illustrations featuring scenes from the poem, some of which were subsequently engraved by William Miller.