Poem-3

Macavity the mystery cat

Q1.Read the first stanza and think.

(i)Is Macavity a cat really?

Ans: No.

(ii)If not, who can Macavity be?

Ans: Macavity can be an imagination of the poet or it can be a criminal who has covered himself in a cat’s coat / fur.

Q2.Complete the following sentences.

(i)A master criminal is one who ___________________

(ii)The Scotland Yard is baffled because ___________________

(iii)___________________ because  Macavity moves much faster than them.

Ans: (i) Can defy the law.

(ii) They could not catch macavity as he is never found on the scene o crime.

(iii) Macavity is never found by the police on the scene of crime.

Q3.“A cat, I am sure, could walk on a cloud without coming through”.

Which law is macavity breaking in the light of the comment above?

Ans: Macavity break the law of Gravity and can fly in the air.

Q4.Read stanza 3, and then, describe Macavity in two or three sentences of your own.

Ans:  Macavity is a ginger cat who is very tall and thin with sunken eyes and brow deeply lined with thought. While its head is highly domed, its coat is dusty and whiskers are uncombed. It sways its head from side-to-side and it is always wide awake even when ones thinks that is half-asleep.

Q5.Say ‘False’ or ‘True’ for each of the following statements.

(i)Macavity is not an ordinary cat.

(ii)Macavity cannot do what a fakir can easily do.

(iii)Macavity has supernatural powers.

(iv)Macavity is well-dressed, smart and bright.

(v)Macavity is a spy, a trickster and a criminal, all rolled in one.

Ans: (i) True.

(ii) False.

(iii) True.

(iv) False.

(v) True.

Q6.Having read the poem, try to guess whether the poet is fond of cats. If so, why does he call Macavity a fiend and monster?

Ans: Yes, it seems like the poet is fond of cats. He calls Macavity a ‘fiend’ and a ‘monster’ because he might have wanted to portray an evil side. He might have used a cat in order to create a negative character who is a criminal and escapes easily from police. The quick movements of a cat and its mysterious eyes might have influenced him to create this evil character in the form of a cat.

Q7.Has the poet used exaggeration for special effect? Find a few examples of it and read those lines aloud.

Ans: Yes, the poet has used exaggerations such as the cat’s defiance of gravity and it being called a ‘monster of depravity’ and a ‘fiend’ in order to enhance the mystery surrounding the cat. Since the cat is shown to be super-fast as nobody from the Scotland Yard to the flying squad can catch it on the scene of crime, these exaggerations have been used by Eliot to lay stress on this monstrous as well as surprising and mysterious nature of Macavity.

Examples:

(i) ‘He’s the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad’s despair’.

(ii) ‘He breaks the law of gravity’.

(iii) ‘His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare.’

(iv) ‘He’s a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity.’