Search results
Literature, Explained Better. A more helpful approach. Our guides use color and the interactivity of the web to make it easier to learn and teach literature. Every title you need. Far beyond just the classics, LitCharts covers over 2000 texts read and studied worldwide, from Judy Blume to Nietzsche. For every reader.
- Sign In
Sign in to your LitCharts account. Sign in with Facebook. or
- Literature Guides
Literature Guides - LitCharts | From the creators of...
- Sign Up
Grasp the quote's significance with our detailed Explanation...
- Shakescleare
Shakescleare - LitCharts | From the creators of SparkNotes,...
- Jobs
LitCharts is a fast-growing ed tech startup built by a small...
- About
CliffsNotes and every other literature guide series that...
- Poetry Guides
Poetry Guides - LitCharts | From the creators of SparkNotes,...
- Literary Terms
A ballad is a type of poem that tells a story and was...
- Sign In
- Summary
- Themes
- Structure
- Literary Devices
- Detailed Analysis
- Similar Poetry
‘Macavity: The Mystery Cat’ by T. S. Eliot describes the evil untraceable deeds of a ginger cat named Macavity, an embodimentof the fictional character Professor Moriarty. The poem introduces the feline character, Macavity, as the “Hidden Paw” as he is one such criminal who can defy the law quite easily. Not even Scotland Yard or Flying Squad could...
In ‘Macavity: The Mystery Cat,’ Eliot includes the themes of deceit, crime, and mystery. What is most intriguing about this poem is how Eliot uses the theme of appearance versus reality. The ginger cat Macavity seems to be involved in numerous criminal acts. Yet, none can prove his direct involvement in any of those crimes. Law enforcers try to con...
‘Macavity: The Mystery Cat’ consists of seven stanzas, with the line count varying from four to eight. The poem begins with a quatrain followed by two six-line stanzas. Then, there is another quatrain followed by a six-line stanza. The poem ends with two eight-line stanzas. Eliot uses the AABB rhyme scheme of the rhyming couplets. For instance, the...
Eliot uses a number of literary devices in ‘Macavity: The Mystery Cat’ that include: 1. Refrain: In this poem, Eliot uses the lines “Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity” and “Macavity’s not there” as refrains. The first refrain is used at the beginning of stanzas two, four, and seven, and the second refrain occurs in the last line of s...
Lines 1-10
T. S. Eliot’s poem ‘Macavity: The Mystery Cat’ is about a mysterious, villainous cat named Macavity. According to the poem’s speaker, he is also known as the “Hidden Paw.” It means that Macavity has its paw in every crime committed in the city. Yet, none can make out his role in the act. He is the mastermind and can defy the “Law” quite easily. Not even the famous Scotland Yard (popularized by Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective stories of Sherlock Holmes) or the Flying Squad can get a hand on Mac...
Lines 11-20
The third stanza elaborates on the physical features of Macavity that help readers to imagine what this cat really looks like. Firstly, he is a ginger cat, having yellowish, orangish fur. He is oddly tall and thin. His brow is deeply lined as if he is always thinking, and his head is dome-shaped. None cares for the cat. That is why he has a dusty coat and uncombed whiskers. He sways his head from side to side, and while walking, it seems as if he is a snake in feline shape. Even if it seems h...
Lines 21-26
The fifth stanza begins with a terse remark. Macavity is, by no means, a respectable person. People are aware of his deeds and how he cheats while playing cards, even though he maintains an air of respectability. His criminal activities go unrecorded in Scotland Yard’s files. Besides, he is involved in acts of theft, murder, and vandalism. Whenever the larder is looted, and a jewel case goes missing, Macavity has some form of involvement. Be it a trifling theft of milk or a serious murder of...
Like ‘Macavity: The Mystery Cat,’ you can also read the following poems from Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats. You can also read other T. S. Eliot poems. 1. ‘The Naming of Cats’— In this poem, Eliot introduces all the cats present in his light versebook. 2. ‘The Song of the Jellicles’— This piece is about the Jellicle cats, always in preparation...
- Male
- Poetry Analyst And Editor
In the morning, the narrator of "The Black Cat" felt horrible about the cruel act. The cat ’s eye socket healed, but he now knew to avoid the narrator and their bond was lost. At first, this loss saddens the narrator but that feeling of regret gives way to anger and perverseness. He explains this word, perverse.
Analysis. Much like “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Black Cat” follows the narrator’s descent into madness after he proclaims his sanity in the tale’s opening paragraph. Even the narrator acknowledges the “wild” nature of the tale, attempting thereby to separate his mental condition from the events of the plot. The nature of the ...
Aug 7, 2020 · Smart even wrote a poem titled A Song to David, although it, like ‘My Cat Jeoffry’, remained unpublished until long after Smart’s death. In his vast and compelling survey of English poetry, The Lives Of The Poets , Michael Schmidt draws a comparison between Smart and Blake, calling the former less didactic and with a better ear, as well as ‘greater formal tact’.
Summary. More than any of Poe's stories, "The Black Cat" illustrates best the capacity of the human mind to observe its own deterioration and the ability of the mind to comment upon its own destruction without being able to objectively halt that deterioration. The narrator of "The Black Cat" is fully aware of his mental deterioration, and at ...
People also ask
Why did the narrator put the cat to death?
How does the poet make a witty comment on the cat?
What is the narrator's mental deterioration in the Black Cat?
How does the Black Cat follow the narrator's descent into madness?
How does the narrator retaliate against the cat?
How does the Black Cat illustrate the human mind?
Feb 24, 2015 · At every station, the cat gets off the train and refreshes himself. In the morning, when you reach your station, you can see Skimble in front of you, bidding goodbye to you. He gives you a wave of his long brown tail and tells you, “ I’ll see you again!”. This is the substance of the poem. In other words, the poet describes the importance ...
