The Mouse's Petition To Dr Priestley Summary

The Mouse’s Petition to Dr. Priestly and the Symbol of the Worm. In Anna Letitia barbauld’s The Mouse’s Petition to Dr. Priestly, the imagery of the worm warns readers against harshly dismissing people who differ because beyond those differences lies similarities, and because that harshness could have negative consequences upon the recipient. This can be seen in the lines, “Beware, lest in the worm you crush a brother’s soul you find,” and, “Tremble lest thy luckless hand dislodge a kindred mind.” The line, “Beware, lest in the worm you crush a brother’s soul you find,” conveys the idea that behind the differences there lies commonalities. The comparison between a human and a worm shows just how vast the differences might be because