Who is the ‘speaker’ of this poem?
It is Robert Burns himself
It is the persona of a sensitive, caring ploughman who is very like Burns himself
It is Burns’ brother, who had startled the mouse that day
What is the general tone of the poem?
Pessimism at the uncertainty of life and the future
Resentment that a mouse could be happier than a human being
Happiness that the little creature has not been harmed
Why is child-like language used in the opening stanza?
The farmers of that time were uneducated
The poem is very simple and was written for children
The speaker was reassuring the mouse if it were a child
What is ‘feminine’ rhyme?
The words rhyme perfectly and end in an unstressed syllable
The rhyming words only sound vaguely alike
The vowels in the rhyming words are soft and musical
Why does the speaker call himself thy poor earth-born companion?
thy poor earth-born companion
Being a farmer, he is always covered in mud and clay, just like the mouse during muddy November weather
He was born on the same farm where the mouse has always lived
They both share a common heritage and live on the land
What is the turning point in stanza four?
The speaker realises that the nest has been destroyed
The mouse has run off and the speaker can do nothing more for it
The speaker accepts that life is tough and he must focus on his farm
How is the speaker’s sense of empathy emphasised in stanza 5?
He describes sleet starting to dribble down on man and mouse
The speaker is thinking of the hearty meal waiting for him when the mouse has nothing
The speaker imagining what the mouse went through went the plough’s blade hit its nest
Why is cranreuch cauld an effective expression?
cranreuch cauld
It is unusual and unexpected in this wintry scene
Its harsh sounds create the sense of a hard frost
It is a Scots expression that conjures up a pleasant Scottish scene
What impression do the rhyming words stibble, nibble and trouble help to convey?
stibble
nibble
trouble
That building a nest is a fairly simple procedure
That a small nest is a huge task for a little creature
That a flimsy nest has little chance of surviving the winter
Why might the mouse be better off than the speaker?
A human worries about past and future, unlike a mouse
A mouse can easily create a new home, unlike a human
A mouse needs very little to survive, unlike a human