To a Mouse

E156471

literary work poem

"To a Mouse" is a famous 1785 Scots-language poem by Robert Burns that reflects on human vulnerability and the disruption of nature through the speaker’s apology to a mouse whose nest he has destroyed.

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All labels observed (2)

Label	Occurrences
To a Mouse canonical	4
To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough	2

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1364851 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: To a Mouse
Context triple: [Robert Burns, notableWork, To a Mouse]

A. Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes
"Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes" is a mock-elegiac poem by Thomas Gray that humorously recounts the drowning of a cat while offering a moral about vanity and temptation.
B. The Milk-Eyed Mender
The Milk-Eyed Mender is the 2004 debut studio album by American singer-songwriter and harpist Joanna Newsom, noted for its intricate lyrics, distinctive vocals, and folk-inspired arrangements.
C. The Cow
The Cow is the English title of Surah Al-Baqarah, the Quran’s longest chapter, which covers core themes of faith, law, guidance, and the relationship between God and humanity.
D. The Lamb
The Lamb is a small uninhabited rocky islet in the Firth of Forth, Scotland, known for its seabird colonies and proximity to the island of Fidra.
E. Lady with an Ermine
Lady with an Ermine is a renowned Renaissance portrait painting by Leonardo da Vinci depicting Cecilia Gallerani holding a white ermine.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: To a Mouse
Target entity description: "To a Mouse" is a famous 1785 Scots-language poem by Robert Burns that reflects on human vulnerability and the disruption of nature through the speaker’s apology to a mouse whose nest he has destroyed.

A. Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes
"Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes" is a mock-elegiac poem by Thomas Gray that humorously recounts the drowning of a cat while offering a moral about vanity and temptation.
B. The Milk-Eyed Mender
The Milk-Eyed Mender is the 2004 debut studio album by American singer-songwriter and harpist Joanna Newsom, noted for its intricate lyrics, distinctive vocals, and folk-inspired arrangements.
C. The Cow
The Cow is the English title of Surah Al-Baqarah, the Quran’s longest chapter, which covers core themes of faith, law, guidance, and the relationship between God and humanity.
D. The Lamb
The Lamb is a small uninhabited rocky islet in the Firth of Forth, Scotland, known for its seabird colonies and proximity to the island of Fidra.
E. Lady with an Ermine
Lady with an Ermine is a renowned Renaissance portrait painting by Leonardo da Vinci depicting Cecilia Gallerani holding a white ermine.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	literary work ⓘ poem ⓘ
addressee	a field mouse ⓘ
author	Robert Burns ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	Scotland ⓘ
createdBy	Robert Burns ⓘ
dateOfComposition	1785 ⓘ
exploresConcept	difference between human and animal awareness of the future ⓘ moral responsibility toward nature ⓘ
famousLine	Gang aft agley ⓘ The best laid schemes o' Mice an' Men ⓘ
firstLine	Wee, sleekit, cow'rin, tim'rous beastie ⓘ
form	poetic monologue ⓘ
genre	lyric poetry ⓘ pastoral poetry ⓘ
hasCharacter	the mouse ⓘ the ploughman speaker ⓘ
hasTranslation	To a Mouse self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough
influenceOn	John Steinbeck ⓘ Of Mice and Men ⓘ
language	Scots ⓘ
literaryMovement	Romanticism ⓘ Scottish literature ⓘ
meter	standard Habbie stanza ⓘ
narrativePerspective	first person ⓘ
notableFor	reflection on the failure of human plans ⓘ use of Scots dialect ⓘ
numberOfStanzas	8 ⓘ
originalLanguage	Scots ⓘ
originalTitle	To a Mouse self-linksurface differs ⓘ surface form: To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough
partOf	Robert Burns's early poems ⓘ
period	18th century literature ⓘ
rhymeScheme	AAABAB ⓘ
setting	a Scottish field ⓘ
subjectMatter	disruption of nature ⓘ human vulnerability ⓘ regret and apology ⓘ relationship between humans and animals ⓘ unpredictability of life ⓘ
theme	empathy for the powerless ⓘ social and economic insecurity ⓘ the fragility of plans ⓘ the impact of human activity on nature ⓘ
tone	apologetic ⓘ melancholic ⓘ reflective ⓘ
writtenBy	Robert Burns ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (6)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Robert Burns → notableWork → To a Mouse ⓘ

Poems of Robert Burns → containsWork → To a Mouse ⓘ

Jean Armour → spouseWork → To a Mouse ⓘ

Burns → notableWork → To a Mouse ⓘ

subject surface form: Robert Burns

To a Mouse → hasTranslation → To a Mouse self-linksurface differs ⓘ

this entity surface form: To a Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest with the Plough

To a Mouse → originalTitle → To a Mouse self-linksurface differs ⓘ