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The naming of cats, by T.S. Eliot
Posté par Cyraknow,
dans
In the language of Shakespeare
10 mars 2014
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1 400 visite(s)
Morphys anglais T.S.Eliot
Following my comment on the poem Morphys, where I mentioned T.S. Eliot, here is an excerpt from "Old Possum's book of practical cats" .
Eliot, a cat lover like Baudelaire, wrote these funny poems about cat life and sociology to amuse his children and grandchildren, who used to call him Old Possum. The poems are very different from his usual style, a mixture of classic writing, and more modern style, but always tinted with humour.
In this poem, he explains how a cat's name is chosen... and we discover a cat has 3 names!
The Naming Of Cats by T. S. Eliot
The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey--
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter--
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum-
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover--
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.
