Search results
‘The best-laid schemes of mice and men’ is one of those literary quotations which have slipped free of their origins and taken on a whole new, proverbial meaning.
Now thou’s turn’d out, for a’ thy trouble, But house or hald, To thole the Winter’s sleety dribble, An’ cranreuch cauld! But Mousie, thou art no thy-lane, In proving foresight may be vain: The best laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men. Gang aft agley,
The phrase “the best laid plans of mice and men” essentially means that no matter how well prepared one may feel, their plans may still fall apart due to circumstances outside of their control. It can be used in both formal and informal contexts.
John Steinbeck’s 1937 novel Of Mice and Men revolves around the notion that, whatever careful plans are made, things don’t always go as expected. It took both its title and its theme from Burns’ poem.
John Steinbeck took the title of his 1937 novel Of Mice and Men from a line contained in the penultimate stanza. The 1997 novel The Best Laid Plans by Sidney Sheldon also draws its title from this line, and so do the novel of the same name by Canadian author Terry Fallis and the film series based on it.
The best-laid schemes o’ Mice an’ Men Gang aft agley, An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain, For promis’d joy! Still thou are blest, compared wi’ me! The present only toucheth thee: But Och! I backward cast my e’e, On prospects drear! An’ forward, tho’ I cannot see, I guess an’ fear!
But Mousie, thou art no thy lane, In proving foresight may be vain: The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men, Gang aft a-gley, An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain, For promis'd joy. Still thou are blest, compared wi' me!
Jun 17, 2024 · The idiom the best laid plans of mice and men might often be heard during an English conversation, but what does this saying mean? We are going to find out the meaning of this phrase as well as looking at where it first came from.
The phrase “the best laid schemes of mice and men” means no matter how carefully we make plans about something, misfortune or accidents might still happen to cause mild or heavy destruction. It also refers to people’s careful planning that may go wrong for some reasons.
Man is equally vulnerable to disaster, and, as a tenant farmer, Burns was particularly aware that the best laid plans may often go awry. However, man suffers even more through worry than...
