"To A Louse, On Seeing One on a Lady's Bonnet at Church" is a 1786 Scots language poem by Robert Burns in his favourite meter, standard Habbie.[1] The poem's theme is contained in the final verse:
Burns original
O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us
To see oursels as ithers see us!
It wad frae mony a blunder free us,
An' foolish notion:
What airs in dress an' gait wad lea'e us,
An' ev'n devotion!
Standard English translation
Oh, would some Power the gift give us
To see ourselves as others see us!
It would from many a blunder free us,
And foolish notion:
What airs in dress and gait would leave us,
And even devotion!
In this poem the narrator notices a lady in church, with a louse that is roving, unnoticed by her, around in her bonnet.[2] The poet chastises the louse for not realising how important his host is, and then reflects that, to a louse, humans are all equal prey, and that they would be disabused of their pretensions if they were to see themselves through each other's eyes.[3] An alternative interpretation is that the poet is musing to himself how horrified and humbled the pious woman would be if she were aware she was harbouring a common parasite in her hair.[1]
^ abRumens, Carol (13 October 2008). "Poem of the week: To a Louse". The Guardian.
^"Robert Burns - To a Louse". BBC. 2014.
^"'To a Louse': A Poem by Robert Burns". Interesting Literature. 9 December 2018.
species of louse—the head louse and the body louse are subspecies of Pediculus humanus; and the pubic louse, Pthirus pubis. The body louse has the smallest...
"ToALouse, On Seeing One on a Lady's Bonnet at Church" is a 1786 Scots language poem by Robert Burns in his favourite meter, standard Habbie. The poem's...
The head louse (Pediculus humanus capitis) is an obligate ectoparasite of humans. Head lice are wingless insects that spend their entire lives on the...
crab louse or pubic louse (Pthirus pubis) is an insect that is an obligate ectoparasite of humans, feeding exclusively on blood. The crab louse usually...
The body louse (Pediculus humanus humanus, also known as Pediculus humanus corporis) is a hematophagic ectoparasite louse that infests humans. It is one...
A whale louse is a crustacean of the family Cyamidae. Despite the name, it is not a true louse (which are insects), but rather is related to the skeleton...
louse may mean: Hog louse, Haematopinus suis, a large parasitic louse living on the skin of domestic swine Hog-louse or water hog-louse, applied to freshwater...
clothing, and Pediculus humanus capitis, or the human head louse. Pthirus pubis (the human pubic louse) is the cause of the condition known as crabs. These...
from louse, a parasitic insect, although woodlice are neither parasitic nor insects. Woodlice evolved from marine isopods which are presumed to have colonised...
A bird louse is any chewing louse (small, biting insects) of order Phthiraptera which parasitizes warm-blooded animals, especially birds. Bird lice may...
Sea lice (singular: sea louse) are copepods (small crustaceans) of the family Caligidae within the order Siphonostomatoida. They are marine ectoparasites...
the tongue-eating louse, is a parasitic isopod of the family Cymothoidae. It enters fish through the gills. The female attaches to the tongue, while the...
Epidemic typhus, also known as louse-borne typhus, is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
not killed by the anti-louse product. Between the treatments, it is advised to wet the hair and comb daily with alouse-comb to remove the hatching lice...
head louse (Pediculus humanus capitis). Itching from lice bites is common. During a person's first infection, the itch may not develop for up to six weeks...
each egg or "nit" may hatch one nymph that will grow and develop to the adult louse. Lice feed on blood once or more often each day by piercing the skin...
Stygotantulus stocki at 0.1 mm (0.004 in), to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span of up to 3.8 m (12.5 ft) and a mass of 20 kg (44 lb). Like other arthropods...
known as "crabs" and "pubic lice") is an infestation by the pubic louse, Pthirus pubis, a wingless insect which feeds on blood and lays its eggs (nits) on...
body louse (Pediculus humanus humanus) is a vector. Louse-borne relapsing fever is more severe than the tick-borne variety.[citation needed] Louse-borne...
Louse Creek may refer to: Louse Creek (Alaska), a stream in Aleutians West Census Area Louse Creek (Missouri) Louse Creek (Niobrara River tributary),...
The Fall of the Louse of Usher is a 2002 British arthouse horror comedy film written and directed by Ken Russell. The film is loosely based on several...
West Branch Louse Creek is a 6.31 mi (10.15 km) long second-order tributary toLouse Creek in Holt County, Nebraska. The confluence of this creek with...
Dance Hall at Louse Point is the debut collaborative studio album by English alternative rock musicians PJ Harvey and John Parish, released on 23 September...
Hippoboscidae, the louse flies or keds, are obligate parasites of mammals and birds. In this family, the winged species can fly at least reasonably well...
East Branch Louse Creek is a 2.79 mi (4.49 km) long second-order tributary toLouse Creek in Holt County, Nebraska. The confluence of this creek with...
The stone louse (Petrophaga lorioti, in German Steinlaus) is a fictitious animal created by German humorist Loriot in 1976 to parody nature documentaries...
The salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) is a species of copepod in the genus Lepeophtheirus. It is a sea louse, a parasite living mostly on salmon...
Eurydice pulchra, the speckled sea louse, is a species of isopod crustacean found in the northeast Atlantic Ocean. The generic name is for the nymph Eurydice...
Global Information