On on the Favorite Cat

307 Words2 Pages
Thomas Gray’s, “Ode: On the Death of a Favorite Cat, Drowned in a Tub of Gold Fishes”, indicates that the poem is a light satire. The first stanza uses words such as “lofty” which means “high” or “towering”, and also “gay” and “demure” which gives the reader a sense that there is pre-eminence. The author refers to a fish tank as a “lake” which the cat is gazing down at. The poem is written in light verse and has a rhyme scheme of AABCCB. “She stretched” is repeated in several stanzas as well. The second stanza consists of the description of the feline. Examples of this description include, her “fair round face, the snowy beard, the velvet of her paws” as well as “tortoise vies.” Throughout the poem, the cat’s eyes are also described as “emerald” and “wand’ring.” Also, in the last sentence of the second stanza, the purr in "purred applause" is an onamatopoea. In the next stanzas, the cat’s misfortune comes into play as her lust for fish is compared to a woman’s lust for gold. The "two angel forms" are the fish within the tank that the cat is eyeing carefully. As the feline reaches for the “prize”, she falls in the tank (her demise). There is also some alliteration in the poem, such as “she stretched” and “heedless hearts.” The last stanza includes the quote, “nor all that glisters, gold.” This quote denotes that even though the cat thought catching the fish would be rewarding, it only led to its demise. I enjoyed this poem because of the humour involved but also because of the imagery and the fact that the poem is about a cat yet has a deeper meaning. Thomas Gray is reminding us to look deeper into the subject or situation before jumping to conclusions based on
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