The mood in "To A Mouse" is one not only of sadness for
what he has done to destroy the mouse's winter home while he was out
ploughing.
He also apologizes that the world of human
beings has encroached on her small existence, even in that she wants so little for
herself;
I'm
truly sorry Man's dominion
Has broken Nature's social
union,
he also can empathize
with her:
...thy poor, earth-born companion,
An'
fellow-mortal!
As he
continues to accept the blame for her present and dire circumstances of a home destroyed
in the cold of winter, which might kill her...
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.
...he may also feel a
kinship with her, inferred here, later in the poem.
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,
He
believes that he, too, is in a terrible situation which he did not see coming. While he
believes that her problems may be temporary, he looks back into his past and believes
the consequences of that past may have far-reaching effects on his future, which to him
seems very bleak.
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!
The primary emotions I
detect from Burns' is sadness for the trouble he has caused this little mouse, the
kinship he feels for their shared troubles, and his lack of hope for his own
future.
(Burns is a well-known and well-loved Scottish poet
whose work lingers long after his death.
His
line
The best
laid schemes o' Mice an' Men,
Gang aft
agley,
is often quoted,
though translated:
"...the best laid schemes [plans] of mice and men
/ Go often askew
[awry].
Though his dialect is
often difficult to follow, he demonstrates his capacity to understand and identify with
the feelings of others—in this poem, even with the lowly field
mouse.
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