To a Louse

Scots language poem by Robert Burns

"To A Louse, On Seeing One on a Lady's Bonnet at Church" is a 1786 Scots language poem by Robert Burns in his favourite meter, standard Habbie.[1] The poem's theme is contained in the final verse:

Burns original

O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion:
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
An' ev'n devotion!

Standard English translation

Oh, would some Power the gift give us
To see ourselves as others see us!
It would from many a blunder free us,
And foolish notion:
What airs in dress and gait would leave us,
And even devotion!

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In the eight-stanza satirical poem, the speaker draws the reader's attention to a lady in church with a louse that is roving, unnoticed by her, around in her bonnet.[2] In the course of the poem, the speaker addresses the louse as it scurries about on "Jenny" who cluelessly tosses her hair and preens, not knowing the person seeing her sees a louse on her. In this last stanza, the speaker reflects on what a gift it would be for us to be able to see ourselves as others see us. How we walk and how we put on airs all would vanish. Not only that, even devotion (i.e., romance) would vanish.

[3]

## See also

[edit]

* To a Mouse

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Rumens, Carol (13 October 2008). "Poem of the week: To a Louse". The Guardian.
2. ^ "Robert Burns - To a Louse". BBC. 2014.
3. ^ "'To a Louse': A Poem by Robert Burns". Interesting Literature. 9 December 2018.

## External links

[edit]

* Works related to To a Louse at Wikisource

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Robert Burns

Poems|

* "Comin' Thro' the Rye" (1782)
* "John Barleycorn" (1782)
* "Man Was Made to Mourn" (1784)
* "Address to the Deil" (1785)
* "Epitaph for James Smith" (1785)
* "Halloween" (1785)
* "Handsome Nell" (1774)
* "Holy Willie's Prayer" (1785)
* "To a Mouse" (1785)
* The Kilmarnock volume (1786)
* "To a Louse" (1786)
* "To a Mountain Daisy" (1786)
* "The Cotter's Saturday Night" (1786)
* "The Battle of Sherramuir" (1787)
* "The Birks of Aberfeldy" (1787)
* "The Holy Tulzie" (1784)
* "Auld Lang Syne" (1788)
* "My Heart's in the Highlands" (1789)
* "Tam o' Shanter" (1790)
* "Ae Fond Kiss" (1791)
* "Such a Parcel of Rogues in a Nation" (1791)
* "Ye Jacobites by Name" (1791)
* "Sweet Afton" (1791)
* "The Slave's Lament" (1792)
* "Oh, whistle and I'll come to you, my lad" (1793)
* "Scots Wha Hae" (1793)
* "A Red, Red Rose" (1794)
* "Ca' the yowes" (revised, 1794)
* "A Man's A Man for A' That" (1795)

Books|

* "Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect"
* "Edinburgh"
* "Belfast"
* "Dublin Variant"
* "London"
* "The Dunlop Burns"
* "The Geddes Burns"

Places|

* Brownhill Inn
* Burns Cottage
* Drukken Steps
* Ellisland Farm
* Friars Carse
* The Hermitage, Friars Carse
* Irvine Burns Club
* Millmannoch
* Mossgiel Farm
* Robert Burns and the Eglinton Estate
* Writers' Museum

Family|

* Jean Armour (wife)
* Robert Burns Junior (son)
* Francis Wallace Burns (son)
* William Nicol Burns (son)
* Elizabeth 'Betty' Burns (natural daughter)
* James Glencairn Burns (son)
* Agnes Broun (mother)
* William Burnes (father)
* Gilbert Burns (brother)
* Agnes Burns (sister)
* Annabella Burns (sister)
* William Burns (brother)
* John Burns (brother)
* Isabella Burns (sister)
* Adam Armour (brother-in-law)
* James Armour (father-in-law)
* Robert Burnes (uncle)

People|

* Robert Aiken
* Robert Ainslie
* John Anderson
* John Bacon (landlord)
* John Ballantine
* Alison Begbie
* Thomas Blacklock
* Nelly Blair
* Richard Brown
* May Cameron
* Mary Campbell
* Margaret Chalmers
* Jenny Clow
* Alison Cockburn
* Alexander Cunningham (lawyer)
* Lord Glencairn
* Frances Dunlop
* Robert Fergusson
* Alexander Findlater
* Jean Gardner
* Jean Glover
* Robert Graham of Fintry
* Gavin Hamilton
* Helen Hyslop
* Nelly Kilpatrick
* John Lewars
* Janet Little
* Jean Lorimer (Chloris)
* James McKie
* John MacKenzie
* Agnes Maclehose
* John McMurdo
* William Maxwell
* John Murdoch
* William Nicol
* Anna Park
* Elizabeth Paton
* John Richmond
* James Smith
* David Sillar
* John Syme
* Alexander Tait
* Robert Tannahill
* Peggy Thompson
* Edward Whigham

Related|

* Glenriddell Manuscripts
* Bachelors' Club, Tarbolton
* Burns Clubs
* Robert Burns World Federation
* Bust of Robert Burns
* Irvine
* Atlanta
* Burns supper
* Memorials
* Kilmarnock
* Robert Burns's Commonplace Book 1783–1785
* Robert Burns's Interleaved Scots Musical Museum
* Montreal
* Barre
* Albany
* Boston
* Robert Burns (Stevenson)
* Robert Burns (Steell)
* Robert Burns's diamond point engravings
* Robert Burns and the Eglinton Estate
* Robert Burns Humanitarian Award
* The Loves of Robert Burns (1930 film)
* "The Marriage of Robin Redbreast and the Wren"
* "The Merry Muses of Caledonia"
* The Poetical Works of Janet Little, The Scotch Milkmaid
* A Manual of Religious Belief

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