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"To a Mouse" First Read

Quiz by Michael

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7 questions
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  • Q1

    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

    30s
  • Q2

    What is the general tone of the poem?

    Happiness that the little creature has not been harmed

    Resentment that a mouse could be happier than a human being

    Pessimism at the uncertainty of life and the future

    30s
  • Q3

    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

    30s
  • Q4

    Why does the speaker call himself thy poor earth-born companion?

    Being a farmer, he is always covered in mud and clay, just like the mouse during muddy November weather

    They both share a common heritage and live on the land

    He was born on the same farm where the mouse has always lived

    30s
  • Q5

    What is the turning point in stanza four?

    The speaker realizes that the nest has been destroyed

    The speaker accepts that life is tough and he must focus on his farm

    The mouse has run off and the speaker can do nothing more for it

    30s
  • Q6

    How is the speaker’s sense of empathy emphasized in stanza 5?

    He describes sleet starting to dribble down on man and mouse

    The speaker imagining what the mouse went through went the plough’s blade hit its nest

    The speaker is thinking of the hearty meal waiting for him when the mouse has nothing

    30s
  • Q7

    Why might the mouse be better off than the speaker?

    A mouse can easily create a new home, unlike a human

    A mouse needs very little to survive, unlike a human

    A human worries about past and future, unlike a mouse

    30s

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