to a mouse
...ouse’s house to be small and weak in the wind. Burns’ repetition of the word “wee” throughout the poem indicates how the mouse is small physically but also how insignificant it is in the world. This could be representing Burns’ views that he feels just as insignificant as the mouse in society. Burns has used an exclamation mark to dramatise his point, because he is so sorry for destroying the mouse’s house think Burns' particular use of imagery to convey the mouse, as a small, inferior creature in the world is actually him commenting on human emotions to an extent. However at the same time I feel that he is also simply commenting on the mouse’s appearance to give us insight into what he sees. Burns also uses allegory to portray how his own life and the mouse’s life are similar. In stanza two we see Burns emotions: “ At me, thy poor, earth-born companion an’ fellow-mortal!” Burns is suggesting that no one should be superior, not animals or humans, but everyone should be equal. He understands that they were born in the same place and will die in the same place-so neither should be thought to be superior to another. He also comments on how they are both poor and again engages sympathy for both the mouse and himself. There is also a sense that Burns is telling the mouse that God did not intend for animals to be inferior and in some ways is reassuring the mouse of this. Again there is use of an exclamation mark, to strenghten the feelings expressed by Burns. It is in stanza seven that the underlying message of the poem is fully revealed, it is revealed by the use of the conjunction “But” which indicates the point where we see Burns speak in a universal manner: “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men gang aft agley An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain” Here Burns is making the point that all plans can fail, no matter if you are a man or a mouse. The underlying message is that everyone faces the problems of the mouse -being vulnerable and weak to those higher than you. Burns looks into the reality that people of the estate, can just as easily force him out like he forced the mouse out of his home- although by mistake. The theme of fate is investigated here to show how it can happen to him just like the mouse. Burns use of the word “us” is particularly effective at it indicates how he sees himself and the mouse to be exactly the same. I think that Burns use of allegory is used to comment on human emotion and behaviour to a large extent. It shows us how the mouse’s situation is in many ways related to human situations. Burns different use of tone throughout the poem also shows how Burns is not merely taking about the world of nature. In the first stanza Burns has an affectionate tone towards the mouse, understanding it vulnerability. In the next stanza his tone is apologetic: “ I’m truly sorry man’s dominion has broken Nature’s social union” The use of the word “truly” emphasises his sympathy for the mouse and how sorry he is for what he has done, but also for the way that other humans treat small animals. The use of the capital on “Nature” shows how Burns does not see the world of nature to be inferior to humans. The tone then moves to being one of understanding-Burns realises that animals have to steal food to survive: “ but thou may thieve”, but they are small and will not take much. Here he seems to be commenting on the greed of human beings because others would probably scold animals for taking food from them. Near the end of the poem Burns moves from admir...