by Colette Georgii

Created on: June 24, 2008   Last Updated: June 27, 2008

To a Mouse by Robert Burns: An Analysis

I love this poem by Robert Burns and feel I can totally relate to it, having grown up on a farm, and having recently rescued a wee baby "mousie" in my back yard drenched out of her nest from a hard rainstorm. After alerting all the neighbors to the plight of the mouse, one of them who works for a vet took it in and nurtured it to adulthood.

I like the Scots dialect in which it is written. I can see myself having dug up the "mousie," the wee "beastie" with the plough, and feeling so sorry for the mouse in its plight. I can envision myself in such a way talking to the mouse as Burns did in his poem.

Perhaps my ability to relate so well to this poem is the same as all people's ability to relate to the poem and why it is considered his most famous poem.

Burns likens himself to the mouse - "thy poor, earth-born companion, an' fellow mortal! He and the mouse share the same world, the same burdens, and the same forces of nature.

He feels sad for the mouse because the mouse is afraid of him because he is a man. "I'm truly sorry Man's Dominion has broken Nature's social union." These are such powerful words, yet simple in their form.

He assures the mouse he will not hurt him with his plough and refers to the mouse as a "Wee, sleeket, cowran,timrous beastie." What excellent words to describe a mouse and how perfect the words seem in speaking to the mouse as though the mouse were also human and would understand; also conveying both sympathy and empathy with the mouse.

He compares himself with the mouse and believes that the mouse is blessed because he will only know the present; whereas he being a man can think of his unfortunate past and worry about an unknown future.

The language of "beastie" and "mousie" reminds me of the way I talked to my children when they were little in silly words. Many times the second youngest daughter and I would talk silly using such words. She now has a degree in linguistics. Perhaps we weren't talking silly, but somehow remembering our part Scottish ancestry from way back when. Perhaps others in their own personal way can relate to this dynamic poem by Robert Burns.

Beastie keeps reminding me of the Beastie Boys. Did they get their name from this memorable poem by Robert Burns?

One of the lines in this poem is a very famous phrase - "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men." Of Mice and Men was the famous book by John Steinbeck, taken from this phrase. And the phrase is often quoted by people when all their plans fail.

Robert Burns (1759-96) was a young man in his twenties when he wrote this poem and very much worried about his future. He made his living by farming on his father's farm where he was born in Alloway in Ayrshire. Robert Burns wrote in 18th century English and in his native Scots dialect. Upon his father's death, he and his brother farmed in Mossgiel in the parish of Mauchline, which is often mentioned in his poetry.

To a mouse is one of Robert Burns's most famous poems. It was written in 1785 after turning up a mouse from its nest with his plough.

Text of the poem and explanation of Scottish words:
http://www.electricscotland.com/burns/mouse.ht ml

Robert Burns Bio:
The Oxford Companion to English Literature, 5th ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1985.

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