LITERATURE QUESTIONS
EARLY BRITISH LITERATURE
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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Is just a simple beast
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Has not broken nature’s social union
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Can, with time and effort, rebuild its burrow
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Lives only in the present, not in the past or future
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Detailed explanation-1: -The speaker says that, compared to him, the mouse is blest (better off than him) because the mouse lives in the present; he does not have a past or a future. Only the present impacts your life.
Detailed explanation-2: -Stanza 7: Connections Stanza seven continues to emphasise the link between mouse and human, indicating the uncertain future they both face, as the poem moves towards its climax. An awareness of Burns’ own life and times shows us that the best laid schemes of cotters (tenant farmers) gave no security at all.
Detailed explanation-3: -Stanza Summaries Stanza 2: Apologizes to the Mouse for mankind’s nature and behavior. Stanza 3: Tells the mouse he understands why the mouse does the things he does such as stealing an ear of corn. The farmer assures that he really doesn’t mind it despite the problems that it may cause.
Detailed explanation-4: -The speaker addresses the mouse in humorous, good-natured terms, as a “Wee” ("little") “sleeket, cowran, tim’rous beastie.” The use of the affectionate “wee” as well as the diminutive terms “beastie” and “breastie” suggest that the speaker might be laughing a bit at the mouse.