Robert Burns, “ To a Mouse”:
Looking through the Eyes of a Common Man
Robert Burns was born in 1759, a time period in which his Scottish heritage was threatened by English society. The Scottish were encouraged to abandon their tradition, religion, and language (Lindsay para. 9). According to author David Daiches, this was a time “most serious poets turned to English and left their country behind” (para. 10). Scottish philosophers such as David Hume and Adam Smith were cautious to compose in English (Daiches para .10). However, Burns challenged the conformation; he aspired to preserve Scottish culture through his writing. Robert Burns uses his common, Scottish dialect in “To a Mouse”to exemplify the political, religious, and social inequalities …show more content…
The major controversy was that some imagined economic growth a positive result, while others, such as Alexander Moncrieff, prophesied economic growth as the destruction of a society. Moncrieff states, “economic growth” would ultimately end in “hell on earth” (Davie para. 9). The young poet feared the same fate, as he describes in lines 45-48:
But och! I backward cast my e'e,
On prospects drear!
An forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear! (Burns)
He reconfirms that he was uncertain of the future with economic growth.
The political decisions to industrialize Scotland for economic growth became another topic in “To a Mouse”. Burns was concerned industrialization would devour agriculture and the connection between men and nature: “I’m truly sorry man’s dominion/Has broken Nature’s social union” (7-8). The growing plants and production centers were destroying the rural scenery and the homes of many (Damrosch 22). The Scottish bard displays this disruption in lines 27-30:
An’ cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell,
Till crash! The cruel coulter past
Out thro’ thy cell. …show more content…
Also, industrialization benefited the rich while the poor were left unemployed. The rich were wealthier, but the poor were deprived. This led to bloody revolutions and war; Burns describes this in “To a Mouse” when he consoles the mouse by stating, “ I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee/ Wi' murdering prattle!” (6-7). He reassures the mouse that he does not need to be afraid because he, as a common man, would not intentionally hurt or kill anything or anyone, unlike the prosperous politicians. It was this political strife that eventually led to the poet’s animosity toward the inequality of the
Looking through the Eyes of a Common Man
Robert Burns was born in 1759, a time period in which his Scottish heritage was threatened by English society. The Scottish were encouraged to abandon their tradition, religion, and language (Lindsay para. 9). According to author David Daiches, this was a time “most serious poets turned to English and left their country behind” (para. 10). Scottish philosophers such as David Hume and Adam Smith were cautious to compose in English (Daiches para .10). However, Burns challenged the conformation; he aspired to preserve Scottish culture through his writing. Robert Burns uses his common, Scottish dialect in “To a Mouse”to exemplify the political, religious, and social inequalities …show more content…
The major controversy was that some imagined economic growth a positive result, while others, such as Alexander Moncrieff, prophesied economic growth as the destruction of a society. Moncrieff states, “economic growth” would ultimately end in “hell on earth” (Davie para. 9). The young poet feared the same fate, as he describes in lines 45-48:
But och! I backward cast my e'e,
On prospects drear!
An forward, tho' I canna see,
I guess an' fear! (Burns)
He reconfirms that he was uncertain of the future with economic growth.
The political decisions to industrialize Scotland for economic growth became another topic in “To a Mouse”. Burns was concerned industrialization would devour agriculture and the connection between men and nature: “I’m truly sorry man’s dominion/Has broken Nature’s social union” (7-8). The growing plants and production centers were destroying the rural scenery and the homes of many (Damrosch 22). The Scottish bard displays this disruption in lines 27-30:
An’ cozie here, beneath the blast,
Thou thought to dwell,
Till crash! The cruel coulter past
Out thro’ thy cell. …show more content…
Also, industrialization benefited the rich while the poor were left unemployed. The rich were wealthier, but the poor were deprived. This led to bloody revolutions and war; Burns describes this in “To a Mouse” when he consoles the mouse by stating, “ I wad be laith to rin an' chase thee/ Wi' murdering prattle!” (6-7). He reassures the mouse that he does not need to be afraid because he, as a common man, would not intentionally hurt or kill anything or anyone, unlike the prosperous politicians. It was this political strife that eventually led to the poet’s animosity toward the inequality of the