Structure of Cat and Mouse

The poem contains a total of three stanzas which do not follow a consistent pattern regarding
the lines awarded to each stanza of the poem. The line lengths of the poem aren’t regular
enough. There are some contractions at the end of the first stanza, the beginning and end of
the second stanza, and at the beginning of the last stanza.

‘Cat and Mouse’ by Ted Hughes contains several literary devices that helps to maintain the
thematic complexity of the poem. The second stanza contains an epigram in the beginning and
the whole idea is completed in the second line of the stanza and is connected through the
enjambment technique. This can be seen repeated in the last stanza again.

In the third line of the second stanza, there is a climax and onomatopoeia; with the stanza
ending with a metaphor” Stupor of life.” Moreover, in the last stanza, the poet ends the poem
using irony as there is an implied comparison between the eye of the God and the eye of the
cat.

Critical Analysis – 1st Stanza

The first stanza focuses heavily on the imagery of the poem as the three images presented in
the stanza lead to destruction and death. The first image presented is of the “sheep-cropped
summit” and with the use of spondee; Hughes has tried to highlight the destroyed and
distorted image of the hills. We are shown that the grass on the summit has been wiped out by
the sheep, so the sheep acts as a destructive force towards the grass. The religious connotation
of sheep has been inverted as it is shown to be a violent force of nature in contrast to its
religious significance where the sheep is associated with purity, innocence and humility. In the
next part, the sun is shown to be cruel and merciless for the hills, sheep and the mouse. The
intense rays of the sun are also reflecting the atmosphere of the poem giving us the hint that
the circumstances are tense and harsh for everything that is present in the poem. The next
image is of the mouse and it is personified to be “crouched’ and “staring” waiting for the
chance to get out of its hole. It could not dare to take the chance to leave its hiding place
where the cat is waiting for him and is representing the force of destruction for the mouse. It
also symbolizes human nature where the humans are symbolically represented by the mouse
taking shelter from the mouse which is signifying death.

Critical Analysis – 2nd Stanza

The second stanza starts with the definition of the philosophy of life where time cannot be
altered and the natural order cannot be reversed since this world came into existence. It is
shown from the perspective of the mouse where the mouse cannot reverse his role and cannot
take the role of the predator and become the cat. The past cannot be changed to provide
benefit to the mouse in the future. The caesura has been used in the second line and we are
taken into the mind of the mouse where he is thinking about his five miles journey – crossing
the villages and farms to attain food. The farms present the final destination of the mouse
where the attainment of food is not an easy task. The farms are singing in the merciless heat as
they are personified to be humming which is also onomatopoeia. The alliteration used in “heat-
heavy” actually makes the journey of the mouse more arduous and complicated. Also added is
the factor that cat is waiting to kill him. This makes him freeze physically and emotionally where
he cannot move due to the dilemma of getting food against potentially killed by the cat, as
suggested by the metaphor “Stupor of life.”

Critical Analysis – 3rd Stanza

The god-like cat finally appears in the last stanza of the poem as the last word of the poem. The
whole stanza turns into an ironical note when humans and mouse are put into the same peril.
The destiny of both of them is in the hands of the higher power and the fulfillment of their
prayers depends on the wishes and desires of their respective God. For mouse, the cat is the
god as its life depends on the cat to release it from the claws of death. Likewise for humans,
their prayers can be “contracted” as they cannot evade death if God has decided their destiny.
The last line shows the destructive side of God as life and death of all living beings in this world
is in the hands of God.