Who wrote 'To A Mouse'?

• A. Longfellow
• B. Robert Burns
• C. Poe
• D. Hawthorne

Answer: (B)

Authorship of a well-known poem is being tested. “To A Mouse” was written by Robert Burns, the Scottish poet, first appearing in 1785 as part of Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect. Burns often wrote in Scots and drew on rural life, using the mouse as a springboard to reflect on human plans versus reality. The famous line about the best-laid schemes of mice and men comes from this piece, which is why Burns is the correct author. The other writers listed—Longfellow, Poe, and Hawthorne—are American authors known for very different works, not this poem.