In Memory of "Maggie"
A pussy-cat who was the household pet for seventeen years.
Naught but a little cat, you say;Yet we remember her,A creature loving, loyal, kind,With merry, mellow purr;The faithful friend of many years,Shall we not give her meed of tears?
Sleek-suited in her velvet coat,White-breasted and bright-eyed,Feeling when she was praised and strokedA very human pride;A quiet nook was sure to pleaseWhere she might take her cushioned ease.
Little gray friend, we shall not feelAshamed to grieve for you;Many we know of human-kindAre not so fond and true;Dear puss, in all the years to beWe'll keep your memory loyally.
Words in this poem
- seventeen a.
- One more than sixteen; ten and seven added; as, seventeen years. [OE. seventene, AS. seofontyne, i. e., seven- ten. Cf. Seventy.]
- purr v. i.
- To murmur as a cat. See Pur.
- shall v. i.
- To owe; to be under obligation for. [OE. shal, schal, imp. sholde, scholde, AS. scal, sceal, I am obliged, imp. scolde, sceolde, inf. sculan; akin to OS. skulan, pres. skal, imp. skolda, D. zullen,]
- meed v. t.
- To reward; to repay. Waytt.
- nook n.
- A narrow place formed by an angle in bodies or between bodies; a corner; a recess; a secluded retreat. [OE. nok; cf. Gael. & Ir. niuc.]
- puss n.
- A cat; -- a fondling appellation. [Cf. D. poes, Ir. & Gael. pus.]
- loyally adv.
- In a loyal manner; faithfully.
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
In Memory of "Maggie" is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Watchman and Other Poems (New York: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1917; Toronto: McClelland, Goodchild and Stewart, 1916), Internet Archive; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: L. M. Montgomery, In Memory of "Maggie", in The Watchman and Other Poems (1916), text of Internet Archive, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/montgomery-watchman/in-memory-of-maggie.html, id L29440.
Form and metre
In Memory of "Maggie" is 19 lines in 4 stanzas. The metre is iambic tetrameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 90%).
See 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.
- 2 -A-ABB say · herA · kind · purrA · yearsB · tearsB
- 3 -A-ABB coat · eyedA · stroked · prideA · pleaseB · easeB
- 4 -A-A-- feel · youA · kind · trueA · be · loyally
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 |
|---|---|---|
| A pussy-cat who was the household pet for seventeen years. | 15 | ·/˘····/···/˘/· |
| Naught but a little cat, you say; | 8 | ···/˘··· |
| Yet we remember her, | 6 | ··˘/˘· |
| A creature loving, loyal, kind, | 8 | ·/˘/˘/˘· |
| With merry, mellow purr; | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| The faithful friend of many years, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| Shall we not give her meed of tears? | 8 | ········ |
| Sleek-suited in her velvet coat, | 8 | ·/˘··/˘· |
| White-breasted and bright-eyed, | 6 | ·/˘··· |
| Feeling when she was praised and stroked | 8 | /˘······ |
| A very human pride; | 6 | ·/˘/˘· |
| A quiet nook was sure to please | 8 | ·/˘····· |
| Where she might take her cushioned ease. | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Little gray friend, we shall not feel | 8 | /˘······ |
| Ashamed to grieve for you; | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Many we know of human-kind | 8 | /˘···/˘· |
| Are not so fond and true; | 6 | ······ |
| Dear puss, in all the years to be | 8 | ········ |
| We'll keep your memory loyally. | 9 | ···/˘˘/˘˘ |
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.