ODE ON THE DEATH

OF A FAVOURITE CAT
DROWNED IN A TUB
OF GOLDFISHES
Thomas Gray
• Revival of Romance/ Pre Romantics/ Predecessors of Romantic period/ Transitional
poets

• Thomas Gray: Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat Drowned in a Tub of Goldfishes

• Neo Classical elements??

• Romantic elements??
• The type of writing/ the subject matter he has chosen/ style of writing ??

• Ode: An elaborately structured poem/ Praising or glorifying an individual or an event/

describing nature intellectually as well as emotionally
THOMAS GRAY (1716-1771)
•An English poet,
classical scholar and
professor at
Pembroke College,
Cambridge.
 BIOGRAPHY
Born in Cornhill, London on December 26, 1716, Gray was the fifth of 12 children of Philip and
Dorothy Antrobus Gray, and the only one to survive infancy.

From 1725-1734 Thomas Gray attended Eton, where he met Richard West, Thomas Ashton
and Horace Walpole, son of the powerful Whig minister, Sir Robert Walpole. This group was
termed as ‘the Quadruple Alliance’

In 1739, Gray went on a continental tour with Walpole where they had a disagreement.
However ,they were reconciled in 1745 and Walpole later published Gray's The Progress of Poetry
and The Bard

 In 1734, Gray entered Peterhouse College, Cambridge University, though 4 years later he left
Cambridge without a degree, intending to read law at the Inner Temple in London.

After the death of Robert West in 1742, wrote some works like Ode on the Spring,Sonnet on the
death of Mr.Robert West & Hymn to Adversity,but failed to gain attention
Wrote An Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard in 1751,which was an instant
success ,obviously due to its universality and classic diction.
• The Progress of Poesy and The Bard ,published in 1756 were criticized, not without
reason, for obscurity and in disappointment, Gray ceased to write
• In 1757,he was offered the post of Poet Laureate, which he refused
• Often said to have been born in the wrong age and time, Gray led a highly troubled
and dissatisfied life, and suffered from frequent bouts of melancholia and
depression. But troubled as he was and the little which he wrote, he wrote incredibly
well
• Gray died in 1771 at the age of 55 and was buried in country churchyard at Stoke
Poges, Buckinghamshire, celebrated in his “Elegy”

Monument in the graveyard at Stoke Poges, the site where Gray began
composing his elegy, also the location of Grays own burial, next to his mother
Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat
Drowned in a Tub of Goldfishes
• Based on an actual incident
• Which occurred in the house of Gray’s friend.(Horace Walpole)
• Two pet cats: Selima and Zara
Zelima had died after being drowned in a tub of goldfishes
This incident was told by the friend
It forms the basis for this poem
 POEM
’Twas on a lofty vase’s side,

Where China’s gayest art had dyed

Azure : bright blue
The azure flowers that blow;
Demur: hesitatingly
Pensive: thoughtful/serious
Demurest of the tabby kind,
Tabby Cat: Any type of domestic cat with a M
mark on its forehead
The pensive Selima, reclined,
Reclined: rest/lean
Purred: to make a low, vibratory sound
Gazed on the lake below.
Vie: feels jealous

Her conscious tail her joy declared;

The fair round face, the snowy beard,

The velvet of her paws,

Her coat, that with the tortoise vies,

Her ears of jet, and emerald eyes,

Still had she gazed; but ’midst the tide

Two angel forms were seen to glide,
The genii of the stream;
Their scaly armour’s Tyrian hue
Through richest purple to the view
Betrayed a golden gleam.
Gaze: to look steadily and intently
Glide: move in a smooth and quiet manner
Genii: a spirit (A guardian or protective spirit)
Tyrian: Purple
Hapless: unfortunate
Nymphs: fairies/spirits
Averse: dislike, despise

The hapless nymph with wonder saw;

A whisker first and then a claw,

With many an ardent wish,

She stretched in vain to reach the prize.

What female heart can gold despise?

Presumptuous maid! with looks intent

Again she stretch’d, again she bent,

Presumptuous: failing to understand the
limits of what is appropriate and
Nor knew the gulf between.
observable
Nereid: Sea nymphs
(Malignant Fate sat by, and smiled) Beguile- cheat

The slippery verge her feet beguiled,

She tumbled headlong in.

Eight times emerging from the flood

She mewed to every watery god,

Some speedy aid to send.

No dolphin came, no Nereid stirred;

Nor cruel Tom, nor Susan heard;

From hence, ye beauties, undeceived,

Know, one false step is ne’er retrieved,

Retreived: get or bring back/take back

And be with caution bold.
Lawful: worthy
Not all that tempts your wandering eyes

And heedless hearts, is lawful prize;

Nor all that glisters, gold.

 ANALYSIS
STANZAS ONE AND TWO
“ ’ Twas on a lofty vase’s... And purred applause”

• A female cat named Selima, sat leaning against a tall vessel which had been painted
richly and brightly by a Chinese Craftsman, with blue-colored flowers blooming on it.
• Selima was in a thoughtful mood, and gazed at the water in the large vessel which was in
shape of a vase.
• Selima looked at the water as if she were the most modest and the meekest of all the
female cats.
• Selima’s tail swayed from side to side, indicating that she was quite happy.
• This cat had a fair-complexioned, round face. She had a perfectly white beard (or whiskers).
• She had paws that were as soft and smooth as velvet . She had a thick and hard skin that
seemed to compete with the hard and thick skin of a tortoise.
• Her ears were perfectly black, and her eyes were green in color . She looked at the water
and made low sounds .
 STANZAS THREE AND FOUR

“ Still had she gazed…What cat’s averse to fish ?”

• She stares at water and observes two angelic figures moving .

• These figures seemed to be the spirits that controlled all the waters, and which were in
charge of this water .
• Actually, these figures were goldfish having thick skins which served as their defense
against(scales as armour) any possible attack just as a knight’s armour serves as his protective
coat.
• These fish were of a deep red color reminding an on-looker of the rich colors which were
manufactured in ancient times on the island of Tyre.(Tyrian: Purple colour)
• The rich golden colour of the fish betrayed their real identity to Selima.
• The fish in the vase was the delicious food that Selima now wanted to eat.
• She stretched first a whisker and then a claw, with many fervent wishes, towards the water in
order to catch the fish; but all her efforts proved futile.
• A cat yearns for fish in the same way as a woman yearns for gold.
 STANZA FIVE

“ Presumptuous maid! With looks intent …A favorite has no friend”

• Selima proved to be an over-confident female cat.

• With eyes looking at the fish fixedly and purposefully, she once again stretched a whisker and
a claw towards the fish, not realizing that a huge quantity of water stood between her and her
intended prey.
• Fate was at this time hostile to her and smiled with amusement to see what Selima was doing.
• Selima was betrayed by the slippery brim on the vase and fell inside.
• Eight times she rose to the surface from the bottom of the vase, she cried and prayed to
every god of the waters to send her some help without any delay.
• But no marine animal, such as a dolphin, and no water-spirit such as a nereid came to her
rescue.
• Neither the male cat, Tom, nor the female cat, Susan, heard her cries.
• Tom proved to be cruel by his indifference.
• The fact is that Selima was the favorite of her owners, and a favorite has no friend.
 STANZA SIX

“From hence, ye beauties, …Nor all that glisters , gold.”

• You beautiful women, do not be deceived by appearances.

• You should learn from this incident a lesson; and the lesson is that one single false step taken
by a maiden can do great hard to her because it cannot be retraced.
• You should be careful when you venture upon any bold enterprise.
• You should know that everything, which tempts you, is not a legitimate commodity for you to
seek.
• Your eyes keep looking around you for desirable items, and your heart is not carefully enough.
• You should know that everything, which has a bright and shinning appearance, is not gold.
• Poet brings out that all women are like Selima ,the doomed cat ,mere beauties who are
tempted by gold and blindly follows anything that attracts them without the thought of the
consequences.
• Grey suggest that women's are suckers for a bit of nice jewelry ; just as cat cannot help being
drawn to gold fish.
 About the poem
• Written in 1747.

• Light hearted poem and rich in suggestions.

• Serious poem written in satirical vein( Example of Horatian satire).

• Written in memory of Walpole’s drowned cat.

• Friendship with Horace Walpole was one of the cause of writing this poem.

• Introduced new subject matter for poetry.

• This poem contains a story therefore we could classify it as a narrative poem.