"To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest With the Plough, November, 1785" is a Scots-language

poem Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings in ...

written by

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

in 1785. It was included in the

Kilmarnock volume ''Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect'', commonly known as the Kilmarnock Edition, is a collection of poetry by Robert Burns, first printed and issued by John Wilson of Kilmarnock on 31 July 1786. It was the first published edition of Burns' w ...

and all of the poet's later editions, such as the ''

Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect (Edinburgh Edition) ''Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect (Edinburgh Edition)'' is commonly known as the first Edinburgh Edition and the partial second setting has become known as the Stinking Edition. It is a collection of poetry and songs by Robert Burns, fir ...

''. According to legend, Burns was ploughing in the fields and accidentally destroyed a mouse's nest, which it needed to survive the winter. In fact, Burns's brother claimed that the poet composed the poem while still holding his plough.

The poem

In other media

John Steinbeck John Ernst Steinbeck Jr. (; February 27, 1902 – December 20, 1968) was an American writer and the 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature winner "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humor and keen social ...

took the title of his 1937 novel ''

Of Mice and Men ''Of Mice and Men'' is a novella written by John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it narrates the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers, who move from place to place in California in search of new job o ...

'' from a line contained in the penultimate stanza. The 1997 novel ''

The Best Laid Plans ''The Best Laid Plans'' is a 1997 novel by Sidney Sheldon. The story details the rise of a handsome, charismatic attorney named Oliver Russel, to political fame, while his jilted fiancée, Leslie Stewart, grows a media empire to eventually destro ...

'' by

Sidney Sheldon Sidney Sheldon (February 11, 1917 – January 30, 2007) was an American writer. He was prominent in the 1930s, first working on Broadway plays, and then in motion pictures, notably writing the successful comedy ''The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer ...

also draws its title from this line, and so do the novel of the same name by Canadian author

Terry Fallis Terry Fallis (born 1959) is a Canadian writer and public relations consultant. He is a two-time winner of the Stephen Leacock Memorial Medal for Humour, winning in 2008 for his debut novel ''The Best Laid Plans''

and the

film series A film series or movie series (also referred to as a film franchise or movie franchise) is a collection of related films in succession that share the same fictional universe, or are marketed as a series. This article explains what film series are ...

based on it. The first stanza of the poem is read by Ian Anderson in the beginning of the 2007 remaster of "One Brown Mouse" by Jethro Tull. Anderson adds the line "But a mouse is a mouse, for all that" at the end of the stanza, which is a reference to another of Burns's songs, " Is There for Honest Poverty", commonly known as "A Man's a Man for A' That".

Sharon Olds Sharon Olds (born November 12, 1942) is an American poet. Olds won the first San Francisco Poetry Center Award in 1980, the 1984 National Book Critics Circle Award, and the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry.

's poem "Sleekit Cowrin also references this poem. In

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), BBC radio comedy, ''The H ...

's ''

Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' (sometimes referred to as ''HG2G'', ''HHGTTG'', ''H2G2'', or ''tHGttG'') is a comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a 1978 radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, it ...

'' series, mice are hyperintelligent pan-dimensional beings who are trying to find the Question to the Ultimate Answer of Life, the Universe, and Everything. When their plans fail they lament that "the best laid plans of mice" don't always work out. The

Monty Python Monty Python (also collectively known as the Pythons) were a British comedy troupe who created the sketch comedy television show '' Monty Python's Flying Circus'', which first aired on the BBC in 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four ...

sketch 'Word Association' references the first line of the poem, and replaces the simple word "We" with "Wee sleekit cowerin' timorous beastie". In book 2, chapters 9, 11, and 13 of ''

The Once and Future King ''The Once and Future King'' is a collection of fantasy novels by T. H. White about the legend of King Arthur. It is loosely based upon the 1485 work ''Le Morte d'Arthur'' by Sir Thomas Malory. It was first published in 1958 as a collection ...

'' by T. H. White, several allusions to the poem are made. The most notable is on p. 291, where a drawbridge man says to the fleeing Sirs Grummore and Palomides, "Wee sleekit, cow'ring timorous Beastie... Oh, what panic's in thy breastie!" The first line of the poem is frequently used by

P. G. Wodehouse Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeve ...

in his

Jeeves Jeeves (born Reginald Jeeves, nicknamed Reggie) is a fictional character in a series of comedic short stories and novels by English author P. G. Wodehouse. Jeeves is the highly competent valet of a wealthy and idle young Londoner named Berti ...

stories and novels. Typically, a woman who has broken off her engagement uses it to describe her former lover, who has been ejected due to his cowardice. An example from The Cat-Nappers, Chapter 16 (Orlo Porter speaking): "Potty little lovers' quarrel my left eyeball. She called me a lily-livered poltroon. And a sleekit timorous cowering beastie." The poem was alluded to in

Ben Rector Benjamin Evans Rector (born November 6, 1986) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer based in Nashville, Tennessee. He has released seven studio albums, including '' Brand New'' (2015), which peaked at No. 9 on the ''Billboard'' ...

's song Living My Best Life.

References

External links

* McGown, George William Thompson
''A Primer of Burns''
Paisley : A. Gardner, 1907. Fully annotated version of ''To a Mouse'', with historical background. pp. 9–20 * Text of the poem can be found a

{{DEFAULTSORT:To a Mouse 1785 poems 1780s in Scotland Scots-language works Mice and rats in literature Poetry by Robert Burns

The poem

In other media

See also

References

External links