SUBJECT: ENGLISH

CLASS VIII
(SESSION 2021-22)

GENERAL GUIDELINES:
● This handout is based on Honeydew’s poem ‘Macavity: The Mystery Cat’.
● It is designed to encourage self-comprehension and contextual understanding of
the poem.
● The questions are designed and selected in accord with NCERT guidelines and CBSE
curriculum designed for class VIII.
● The questions given herewith are for self-practice and are to be done in notebook.
● To build a strong vocabulary bank, dictionary browsing should be essentially resorted to.

GET SYNCHRONIZED!

Thomas Stearns Eliot OM was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor. Considered
one of the 20th century's major poets, he is a central figure in English-language Modernist poetry. The Waste
Land is widely regarded as one of the most important poems of the 20th century and a central work of
modernist poetry. While it is not considered as Eliot's masterpiece by many critics, it is undoubtedly his most
famous poem.
Macavity the Mystery Cat, also called the Hidden Paw, is a fictional character and the main antagonist in T.
S. Eliot's 1939 poetry book Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. He also appears in the Andrew Lloyd
Webber 1981 musical Cats, which is based on Eliot's book.

DELVE INTO THE TEXT!

⮚ Read the textual content and go through the paraphrasing:
 EXPLANATION

This poem describes the story of a mystery cat, Macavity. Macavity is a fictional character and depicts the
actions of the crooks. He is also known as ‘Hidden Paw’. He is a notorious criminal, spy, and a trickster and
openly disobeys the laws. Macavity is a mastermind and leaves no evidence after committing the crime.
Thus, the Scotland Yard Police is also helpless. The Flying Squad has also never succeeded in catching him
as he runs faster than them.

The poet says that Macavity is unique. He not only breaks the human laws but also the laws of nature. He
can float in the air without any support and thus, breaks the gravitational law of nature. It is said that the
fakirs have some magical powers but even they look at him in surprise.

Thus, he has supernatural and magical powers. Surprisingly, even when one rushes to the crime scene, 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. Thus, we can
say that he outwits the world’s top investigation agencies.

Macavity’s appearance is also very special. He is easily recognizable as he is a tall and thin ginger cat. He
has sunken eyes and his brows have deep wrinkles. His brows depict that he is in deep and continuous
planning of criminal acts. Also, he never combs his whiskers and constantly neglects his skin. Thus, he is full
of dust. His head is also highly domed. One can find him swaying his head from side to side just like a
snake. One may feel that he is in deep sleep but he will be only dozing. Thus, he is a proficient cheat, spy,
and a trickster.

The author says that Macavity possesses a unique character. He finds him to be the incarnation of evil. He
says that one can see Macavity anywhere easily, may it be in the street or in a square. But, whenever you find
him in order to punish him for any of his crimes, he cannot be found anywhere.

ASSIGNMENT ENCASEMENT
Q. Answer the following questions in complete statements:

1. Reference to the context:

a] “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!”
i. Why could you not find Macavity at the scene of crime?
ii. What power helps Macavity in escaping the police?
iii. Provide 3 adjectives that describe Macavity the best.

2. Read, relate and answer [50-60 words]

a] Macavity’s evil ways have been glorified by the poet in this poem. Do you agree? Validate
your answer with reasons.

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