The Mysterious Cat
I saw a proud, mysterious cat,I saw a proud, mysterious catToo proud to catch a mouse or rat--Mew, mew, mew.
But catnip she would eat, and purr,But catnip she would eat, and purr.And goldfish she did much prefer--Mew, mew, mew.
I saw a cat--'twas but a dream,I saw a cat--'twas but a dreamWho scorned the slave that brought her cream--Mew, mew, mew.
Unless the slave were dressed in style,Unless the slave were dressed in styleAnd knelt before her all the while--Mew, mew, mew.
Did you ever hear of a thing like that?Did you ever hear of a thing like that?Did you ever hear of a thing like that?Oh, what a proud mysterious cat.Oh, what a proud mysterious cat.Oh, what a proud mysterious cat.Mew... mew... mew.
Words in this poem
- catnip n.
- A well-know plant of the genus Nepeta (N. Cataria), somewhat like mint, having a string scent, and sometimes used in medicine. It is so called because cats have a peculiar fondness for it.
- purr v. i.
- To murmur as a cat. See Pur.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Mysterious Cat is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Congo, and Other Poems, Project Gutenberg ebook #1021; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Vachel Lindsay, The Mysterious Cat, in The Congo and Other Poems (1914), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #1021, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/lindsay-congo/the-mysterious-cat.html, id L00942.
Form and metre
The Mysterious Cat is 23 lines in 5 verse paragraphs. It is in rhyming couplets, 61% of the lines: octosyllabic couplets. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 84%). 100% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 7.0 syllables. 13% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in octosyllabic couplets, other poems in iambic tetrameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AAA- catA · catA · ratA · mew
- 2 AAA- purrA · purrA · preferA · mew
- 3 AAA- dreamA · dreamA · creamA · mew
- 4 AAA- styleA · styleA · whileA · mew
- 5 AAAAAA- thatA · thatA · thatA · catA · catA · catA · mew
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against iambic tetrameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| I saw a proud, mysterious cat, | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| I saw a proud, mysterious cat | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Too proud to catch a mouse or rat-- | 8 | ········ |
| Mew, mew, mew. | 3 | ··· |
| But catnip she would eat, and purr, | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| But catnip she would eat, and purr. | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| And goldfish she did much prefer-- | 8 | ·/····˘/ |
| Mew, mew, mew. | 3 | ··· |
| I saw a cat--'twas but a dream, | 8 | ········ |
| I saw a cat--'twas but a dream | 8 | ········ |
| Who scorned the slave that brought her cream-- | 8 | ········ |
| Mew, mew, mew. | 3 | ··· |
| Unless the slave were dressed in style, | 8 | ········ |
| Unless the slave were dressed in style | 8 | ········ |
| And knelt before her all the while-- | 8 | ········ |
| Mew, mew, mew. | 3 | ··· |
| Did you ever hear of a thing like that? | 9 | ··/······ |
| Did you ever hear of a thing like that? | 9 | ··/······ |
| Did you ever hear of a thing like that? | 9 | ··/······ |
| Oh, what a proud mysterious cat. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Oh, what a proud mysterious cat. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Oh, what a proud mysterious cat. | 8 | ····˘/˘· |
| Mew... mew... mew. | 3 | ··· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.