Source identified
Read & copy the quotation
“The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men Gang aft agley,”
- Source
- To a Mouse
- Date
- 1785
Meaning of “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men…”
Burns reflects that careful plans can still be overturned by circumstances, linking the mouse’s ruined nest with the wider human experience of disappointed expectations.
Where does it come from?
“To a Mouse,” written in November 1785 and represented in Project Gutenberg #1279. The Scots wording appears in a poem that moves from sympathy with an animal to reflection on human foresight, regret and fear of the future.