Analysis of To a Mouse, on Turning Up Her Nest With the Plough
Robert Burns 1759 (Alloway) – 1796 (Dumfries)
Wee, sleeket, cowrin, tim'rous beastie,
Oh, what a panic's in thy breastie!
Thou need na start awa sae hasty
Wi' bickerin brattle!
I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee
Wi' murd'ring pattle!
I'm truly sorry man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social union,
An' justifies that ill opinion
Which makes thee startle
At me, thy poor earth-born companion,
An' fellow-mortal!
I doubt na, whyles, but thou may thieve:
What then? poor beastie, thou maun live!
A daimen icker in a thrave
'S a sma' request;
I'll get a blessin wi' the lave,
An' never miss 't!
Thy wee bit housie, too, in ruin!
Its silly wa's the win's are strewin!
An' naething, now, to big a new ane,
O' foggage green!
An' bleak December's winds ensuin
Baith snell an' keen!
Thou saw the fields laid bare an' wast,
An' weary winter comin fast,
An' cozie here beneath the blast
Thou thought to dwell,
Till crash! the cruel coulter past
Out thro' thy cell.
That wee bit heap o' leaves an' stibble
Has cost thee monie a weary nibble!
Now thou's turn'd out for a' thy trouble,
But house or hald,
To thole the winter's sleety dribble
An' cranreuch cauld!
But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane
In proving foresight may be vain:
The best laid schemes o' mice an' men
Gang aft agley,
An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain
For promis'd joy.
Still thou art blest, compar'd wi' me!
The present only toucheth thee:
But, och! I backward cast my e'e
On prospects drear!
An' forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear!
Scheme | AAABAB CCCBCB DDDXDA CCEFCF AGGHGH BBBXBA EEXBEX AAAIAI |
---|---|
Poetic Form | Burns stanza (56%) |
Metre | 111110 11010011 11111110 1110 111111111 111 110101010 110101010 11011010 11110 111111010 11010 11111111 11110111 011001 10101 1101101 11011 11111010 11010111 11111011 111 1101011 1111 11011111 1101011 1110101 1111 11010101 1111 11111111 111101010 111110110 1111 11010110 111 1111111 0101111 01111111 111 111111111 1101 11110111 0101011 111101111 1101 1101111 1111 |
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 1,418 |
Words | 269 |
Sentences | 21 |
Stanzas | 8 |
Stanza Lengths | 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6, 6 |
Lines Amount | 48 |
Letters per line (avg) | 23 |
Words per line (avg) | 6 |
Letters per stanza (avg) | 136 |
Words per stanza (avg) | 33 |
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 1:25 min read
- 108 Views
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"To a Mouse, on Turning Up Her Nest With the Plough" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 28 Apr. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem-analysis/30597/to-a-mouse%2C-on-turning-up-her-nest-with-the-plough>.
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