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Macavity

This poem describes Macavity, a mysterious criminal cat known as the "Napoleon of Crime." Macavity is able to defy the law and avoid being caught at the scene of his crimes through his powers of levitation and invisibility. He is described as a tall, thin ginger cat with sunken eyes who is always awake and alert. The poem asserts that whenever a crime is discovered, Macavity is never found at the scene and always has an alibi to avoid blame.

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Ayush Bgmi
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785 views2 pages

Macavity

This poem describes Macavity, a mysterious criminal cat known as the "Napoleon of Crime." Macavity is able to defy the law and avoid being caught at the scene of his crimes through his powers of levitation and invisibility. He is described as a tall, thin ginger cat with sunken eyes who is always awake and alert. The poem asserts that whenever a crime is discovered, Macavity is never found at the scene and always has an alibi to avoid blame.

Uploaded by

Ayush Bgmi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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​Let's read this poem about a criminal cat!

Macavity's a Mystery Cat: he's called the Hidden Paw- For he's the
master criminal who can defy the Law. He's the bafflement of
Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad's despair: For when they reach the
scene of crime-Macavity's not there!

Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity, He's broken every


human law, he breaks the law of gravity. His powers of levitation
would make a fakir stare, 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!

Macavity's a ginger cat, he's very tall and thin; You would know
him if you saw him, for his eyes are sunken in. His brow is deeply
lined with thought, his head is highly domed; His coat is dusty from
neglect, his whiskers are uncombed. He sways his head from side to
side, with movements like a snake; And when you think he's half
asleep, he's always wide awake.

Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity, For he's a fiend in


feline shape, a monster of depravity. You may meet him in a by-
street, you may see him in the square But when a crime's
discovered, then Macavity's not there!

He's outwardly respectable. (They say he cheats at cards.) And his


footprints are not found in any file of Scotland Yard's. And when
the larder's looted, or the jewel-case is rifled, Or when the milk is
missing, or another Peke's been stifled, Or the greenhouse glass is
broken, and the trellis past repair- Ay, there's the wonder of the
thing! Macavity's not there!
And when the Foreign Office find a Treaty's gone astray, Or the
Admiralty lose some plans and drawings by the way, There may be
a scrap of paper in the hall or on the stair- But it's useless to
investigate-Macavity's not there! And when the loss has been
disclosed, the Secret Service say: 'It must have been Macavity!'-but
he's a mile away. You'll be sure to find him resting, or a-licking of
his thumbs; Or engaged in doing complicated long division sums.

Macavity, Macavity, there's no one like Macavity, There never was a


Cat of such deceitfulness and suavity. He always has an alibi, and
one or two to spare: At whatever time the deed took place-
MACAVITY WASN'T THERE! And they say that all the Cats whose
wicked deeds are widely known (I might mention Mungojerrie, I
might mention Griddlebone) Are nothing more than agents for the
Cat who all the time Just controls their operations: the Napoleon of
Crime!

-T. S. Eliot

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