Speaker

The principal character in this poem is the speaker. In this case, the speaker can be associated closely with Burns, or at least with someone who broadly shares the same social positions as he did – a poor farmer, living off the land, and struggling to provide for themself and their family. Indeed, the legend associated with the poem proposes that this poem is autobiographical, having been spontaneously composed by Burns after he destroyed a mouse nest, though whether or not there is any truth to that legend is certainly lost to time.

The Mouse

The other character in the poem is the mouse. With the memorable opening line “wee, sleeket, cowran, tim’rous beastie,” Burns conjures up the archetypal image of the animal (1). So tiny, and always frightened, the mouse is a potential victim of all the hardships of the world. Yet there is also an enviable naivete...