MACAVITY : THE MYSTERY CAT - TS ELIOT -NOTES- MUHAMMAD SHAHEER

Macavity: The Mystery Cat

                                                                              T.S ELIOT       

  Prepared by MUHAMMAD SHAHEER

Macavity: The Mystery Cat, which is taken from T.S Eliot’s collection of humorous poems Old Possum’s Book of practical cats Describes about the mysterious criminal deeds of a cat named Macavity.Macavity, has a strong resemblance with Professor Moriarty, in Sir Arthur Conon Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes story.

Speaker of the poem calls macavity as the Hidden Paw for his ability to outwit the law. His secret schemes in crimes makes him to earn the title called Napoleon of crimes.Macavity violates all manmade and natural laws and it creates bafflement in Scotland Yard and flying squads. According to the poet Macavity has special skill to commit wrong deeds and the way he escapes from the crime scenes create wonder in fakirs who are famous for magical powers.

Macavity is a ginger cat, he is very tall and thin, his eyes are sunken in, his brow is deeply lined with thought, and head is highly domed, untidy and uncombed hair and sneaky walking heighten his mystery, moreover it makes him unique and unparallel. He is treated as a fiend in feline shape.

Macavity is notorious for his mischievous behavior. He loots larders, secretly snatches milk, plunders jewel case, strangles Pekinese, stealthily creeps in to the foreign office and steal the treaty, disorganize the drawings of the admiralty., All these pranks disturb the investigators. The refrain ‘Macavity there is no one like Macavity clearly indicates the power and influence of Macavity in crime circles.

Macavity the Mystery cat is depicted in a humorous manner. Here the cat has been personified, the poet compares him to devil or monster of depravity.Macavity’s uncanny behavior and his cunningness to cover up his crimes in pleasing manner makes him a brilliant and intelligent criminal. His polite and courteous outward attitude helps him to engage in every endeavors, besides his alibi to prove his absence on the crime scenes enables him to have a firm grip on crimes and his co –conspirators.

T.S Eliot’s has made his poem a narrative one by detailing the activities of macavity,narrating each and every single deeds of Macavity facilitates the readers to get a full picture of the surreptitious ways of a cat, here the poet also tires to expose the cruelty, hypocrisy and vanity  of human beings through an animal. Allusion of James Moriarty in Sherlock Holmes vividly shows that poet wants to mention the threat of perverted criminals and the troubles they create to both police and common people.