I read the poem that the phrase comes from in high school (To a Mouse by Robert Burns) and I was surprised to learn that it was actually written in the Scots dialect, and that the famous quote we're accustomed to was just a translation. (Check it out (http://plagiarist.com/poetry/?wid=5938))
And somehow, that tends to be the sort of completely random and generally useless knowledge that sticks in my head. Oh well. *g*
Huh. I was fairly sure it had come from a Shakespeare passage. Though I guess it's possible this poem you know came before Shakespeare, or I remembered incorrectly.
Robert Burns came after Shakespeare, but I'm pretty sure that "To a Mouse" is the poem that you're remembering bits from. Burns is one of the more beloved Scottish poets, I think; also wrote "To a Louse", which has the memorable bit, "O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us / To see oursels as other see us!" He might have also written an ode to haggis, bless his heart. :D
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Date: 2003-09-26 11:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-09-26 11:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-09-27 12:02 am (UTC)And somehow, that tends to be the sort of completely random and generally useless knowledge that sticks in my head. Oh well. *g*
no subject
Date: 2003-09-27 12:36 am (UTC)"The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley"
Date: 2003-09-27 06:37 am (UTC)Robert Burns came after Shakespeare, but I'm pretty sure that "To a Mouse" is the poem that you're remembering bits from. Burns is one of the more beloved Scottish poets, I think; also wrote "To a Louse", which has the memorable bit, "O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us / To see oursels as other see us!" He might have also written an ode to haggis, bless his heart. :D
Re: "The best laid schemes o' mice an' men / Gang aft agley"
Date: 2003-09-27 10:54 am (UTC)