The Mountain and the Squirrel
The Mountain and the Squirrel
Had a quarrel,
And the former called the latter
“Little prig.”
Bun replied,
“You are doubtless very big;
But all sorts of things and weather
Must be taken in together
To make up a year
And a sphere.
And I think it no disgrace
To occupy my place.
If I’m not so large as you,
You are not so small as I,
And not half so spry:
I’ll not deny you make
A very pretty squirrel track.
Talents differ; all is well and wisely put;
If I cannot carry forests on my back,
Neither can you crack a nut.”
Summary of The Mountain and the Squirrel
- Popularity of “The Mountain and the Squirrel”: Written by the great American poet and philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, this beautiful and brief poetic output first appeared in 1928. Like his popularity, the poet has not missed the chance to teach a lesson to children and adults alike by presenting two different and contradictory things to compare how they differ in their work. The popularity of the poem lies in the fact that everybody must take care of his/her own allotted role and work and stop belittling others.
- “The Mountain and the Squirrel” As a Representative of Minding One’s Own Business: The poet beautifully presents a squabble between two different things. A mountain taunts a squirrel for her being a very little animal that cannot do anything and yet a haughty fellow. However, the squirrel does not brook it and tells the mountain straight that although he is quite big, he has occupied a huge place and that must have taken him years. Therefore, the size, she concludes, does not matter, adding that she is no doubt very small and there is no doubt also that he is very big. Therefore, it is a matter of talent in which they differ as she is quite small but can crack a nut, and he is too big but cannot perform this task.
- Major Themes in “The Mountain and the Squirrel”: Minding one’s own business, avoiding bickering, taunting, and irony, and not taking others lightly are the major themes of this poem. Although the poet has beautifully highlighted that everybody must mind his/her own business, he has also highlighted through the reaction of the squirrel that nobody should bicker, taunt and satirize others. Sometimes size, time, and width do not matter, as in the case of a mountain that it cannot move despite its mammoth size. Yet it has a huge size and tries to belittle the character of the squirrel. Therefore, she turns against him and tells him that he must mind his own business as he cannot crack a small nut like her. Therefore, he must stop bickering with her and stop taking her lightly.
Analysis of Literary Devices Used in The Mountain and the Squirrel
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s skill of using literary devices is matchless. He demonstrated this skill amply in the poem, as shown below.
- Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /e/ in “And the former called the latter” and the sound of /o/ in “To occupy my place.”
- Consonance: Consonance is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line, such as the sound of /r / in “A very pretty squirrel track” and the sound of /k/ and /s/ in “If I cannot carry forests on my back.”
- Dialog: It means the conversation between two people. The poem shows the use of dialog, such as;
“Little prig.”
Bun replied,
“You are doubtless very big;
But all sorts of things and weather
Must be taken in together
To make up a year
And a sphere
- Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. Ralph Waldo Emerson used imagery in this poem, such as “Must be taken in together”, “You are doubtless very big” and “And I think it no disgrace.”
- Personification: It means to attribute human emotions to inanimate objects. The poet used the personification of the mountain as if it has life and emotions of its own.
- Symbolism: Symbolism is using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings that are different from the literal meanings. The poem shows symbols such as the mountain, the prig, big, year, and disgrace to show the importance of suitability of tasks.
Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in The Mountain and the Squirrel
Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is an analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.
- Diction: It means the type of language. The poem shows good use of formal, poetic, and funny diction.
- End Rhyme: It means to use verses having matching end words. Ralph Waldo Emerson shows the use of end rhyme, such as squirrel/quarrel and prig/big.
- Rhyme Scheme: The poem shows the perfect rhyme scheme of ABAB until the last verse.
- Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. This is a single-stanza poem having twenty verses.
- Tone: It means the voice of the text. The poem shows a derisive, funny, rational, and balanced tone at different places in it.
Quotes to be Used
The following lines are useful to quote when talking about the suitability of the task a person needs to perform.
I’ll not deny you make
A very pretty squirrel track.
Talents differ; all is well and wisely put;
If I cannot carry forests on my back,
Neither can you crack a nut.”
