Wee, sleekit, cowrin, tim'rous beastie
-- Speaker (Line 1)

Importance: In this initial line, the speaker offers a number of adjectives, all of which characterize the mouse and modify the word "beastie" (1). In Scots, the -ie ending can be used as a dimunitive, meaning "a small version of whatever noun came before" – so in this case, a "beastie" is a little beast. These adjectives create a sinuous, delicate sound, while also introducing the profound poetic potential of the Scots language to express in both sound and meaning.

I'm truly sorry man's dominion, / Has broken nature's social union
-- Speaker (Lines 6 – 7)

Importance: In these lines, the speaker directly addresses the question of the relationship between human and animals. In Burns's lifetime, that relationship was still largely understood through the lens of the Biblical mandate that man had dominion over the animals. Here, Burns reverses that claim, reflecting instead a sense that this dominion is an artificial and regrettable corruption of...