Macavity

Macavity : The Mystery Cat

                              By T. S. Eliot

 

Analysis of the poem :

·      The poem ‘Macavity – The Mystery Cat’ is composed Thomas Sterne Eliot, a renowned English poet and Nobel laureate.

·      This poem describes a mystery cat named Macavity. Macavity is a fictional character and it represents the actions of the crooks.

·      The poem describes certain physical features, supernatural characteristics and extraordinary activities.

·      The tone of the poem is humorous and admiring. A simple cat’s characteristics and qualities are exaggerated through clever use of Hyperbole and humour by Eliot.

·      The poem is lyrical and musical. Alliteration, assonance and poetic repetition are used skilfully to enhance poem’s musical quality.

 

Line by Line Explanation

 

Stanza 1

Macavity’s a Mystery Cat: he’s called the Hidden Paw —

For he’s the master criminal who can defy the Law.

He’s the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad’s despair:

For when they reach the scene of crime — Macavity’s not there!

Explanation:

This poem describes a clever, smart and mysterious cat named Macavity. He is also known as ‘Hidden Paw’ because he is clever in hiding after committing a crime. He is compared to a notorious criminal, spy, and a trickster as he openly disobeys the laws. He makes the Scotland Police baffled and troubles the Flying Squad as he is nowhere to be caught by all the investigating agencies and police force. Macavity is presented as a mastermind as he commits a crime and escapes leaving no evidence.

 

Stanza 2

Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity,

He’s broken every human law, he breaks the law of gravity.

His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare,

And when you reach the scene of crime — Macavity’s not there!

You may seek him in the basement, you may look up in the air —

But I tell you once and once again, Macavity’s not there!

Explanation:

Macavity not only breaks the human laws but also defies the laws of nature. He can float in the air and thus, breaks the gravitational law of nature. The police feels that he has gone in the air. It is said that the fakirs who have magical powers, also look at him in surprise rising in the air with his amazing levitation powers.

Macavity is believed to have supernatural and magical powers by the poet. When one rushes to the crime scene to catch him, they cannot find him. He is not in the basement i.e. under the Earth and nor is he in the air i.e. sky. It feels as if he has disappeared using his supernatural powers as it is found nowhere. Thus, we can say that he outwits the world’s top investigation agencies and police forces.

 

Stanza 3

Macavity’s a ginger cat, he’s very tall and thin;

You would know him if you saw him, for his eyes are sunken in.

His brow is deeply lined with thought, his head is highly domed;

His coat is dusty from neglect, his whiskers are uncombed.

He sways his head from side to side, with movements like a snake;

And when you think he’s half asleep, he’s always wide awake.

Explanation:

Macavity is tall and thin ginger cat. He has sunken eyes and his forehead has deep wrinkles due to over thinking and planning for committing crimes. The poet means to convey that he is involved in deep thinking and continuous planning of criminal activities. Due to being over busy he neglects his whiskers which remain uncombed. His skin is dusty as he doesn’t have time for grooming. His head is also highly domed which depicts that he is intelligent. He sways his head from side to side and moves like a snake. When one feels that he is in deep sleep, he is dozing to misguide. Actually, he is wide awake at that time. Thus, he is a proficient cheat, spy, and a trickster.

 

Stanza 4

Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity,

For he’s a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity.

You may meet him in a by-street, you may see him in the square —

But when a crime’s discovered, then Macavity’s not there!

Explanation:

Macavity possesses unique characteristics. The poet finds him to be the incarnation of evil in the form of a cat. He says that he is a wicked monster. one can easily see Macavity anywhere, in the lanes, squares or crossroads but, whenever anyone tries to catch him in order to punish him for his crimes, he cannot be found anywhere.

 

Summary / Synopsis

This poem is about a smart cat named Macavity also known as ‘Hidden Paw’ because he is clever in escaping after committing a crime. He is compared to a notorious criminal, spy, and a trickster. Macavity is presented as a mastermind and leaves no evidence after committing the crime. Macavity breaks human laws as well as the laws of nature. He can float in the air defying gravity. It has magical powers of rising in air with his levitation powers like a fakir. When one tries to catch him, he is neither under the Earth nor in sky. The world’s top investigation agencies and police forces can’t catch him.

Macavity is a tall and thin ginger cat having sunken eyes and wrinkles on his forehead due to over thinking and continuous planning. Due to being too much busy his whiskers aren’t combed. His dusty skin, highly domed head depict that he is intelligent. He sways his head and moves like a snake. When one feels that he is in deep sleep, he is dozing to misguide. Thus, he is a proficient cheat, spy, and a trickster. The poet finds him to be the incarnation of evil. Macavity can be seen anywhere but he cannot be caught by anyone.

 

Rhyme Scheme

AABB, AABBBB, AABBCC, AABB for each stanza

 

Poetic Devices

Macavity’s a Mystery Cat: he’s called the Hidden Paw – Alliteration, Refrain

For he’s the master criminal who can defy the Law – Metaphor

He’s the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad’s despair – Hyperbole

Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity - Repetition

He’s broken every human law, he breaks the law of gravity – Hyperbole

His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare – Hyperbole

You may seek him in the basement, you may look up in the air – Repetition

But I tell you once and once again, Macavity’s not there – Repetition

You would know him if you saw him, for his eyes are sunken in –  Repetition, Assonance

His brow is deeply lined with thought, his head is highly domed – Assonance, Alliteration

He sways his head from side to side, with movements like a snake – Alliteration, Repetition, Simile

And when you think he’s half asleep, he’s always wide awake – Repetition, Alliteration,

Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity – Refrain, Repetition

For he’s a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity – Alliteration , Metaphor

You may meet him in a by-street, you may see him in the square — Repetition, Alliteration

 

RTC 

Macavity, Macavity, there’s no one like Macavity, 
His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare, 
And when you reach the scene of crime – Macavity’s not there! 
You may seek him in the basement, you may look up in the air 
 

1. Why did the poet take the name thrice in a line? 
2. What is the impact of cat’s powerful ‘levitation’? 
3. Why was the search for him futile? 
4. Write the figure of speech used in the second line.