The Mouse's Petition

I particularly enjoyed reading "The Mouse’s Petition” because I think it is a poem that it still so applicable today and furthermore one that can become applicable to a variety of contexts. The first element of tension that seems to arise on a literal level is that of a desire for knowledge (science) versus ethics and morality – a cause people still fight for today. It raises the interesting question of what is ethical? Is it OK to experiment on a mouse to discover an element that could help others in the future?

The element of the poem that I found most intriguing however, is the fact that Barbauld chooses to fight science (and potentially politics if we are examining the poem through a feminist lens) with poetry. And further, not merely poetry but a poem with somewhat of a nursery rhyme tone that as the footnote mentions was in fact taught to children. I would  expect this to trivialize the topic at hand when in fact somehow it has the opposite effect – it makes the poem somewhat sadder to actually picture it being said from the mouth of someone or something that is helpless. I particularly like lines 29-36 that as the footnote states refers to the idea of transmigration of souls (reincarnation) – the focus on the idea that life is cyclical and while one may be powerful today they may have nothing tomorrow (I also read it as a little bit funny – almost a jab at Priestley’s beliefs). I think this is a poem that can really be applied to any oppressed group of people throughout history and that universality of it distinguishes Barbauld from other poets we have read.