NCERT Solutions Class 8 English Chapter 3 Macavity The Mystery Cat Poem

NCERT Solutions for Class 8 English for Macavity The Mystery Cat Poem

Working with Poem

Question 5. Say 'False' or 'True' for each of the following statements.

(i) Macavity is not an ordinary cat.
(ii) Macavity cannot do what a fakir can easily do.
(iii) Macavity has supernatural powers.
(iv) Macavity is well-dressed, smart and bright.
(v) Macavity is a spy, a trickster and a criminal, all rolled in one.

Answer

(i) True
(ii) False
Macavity's power of levitation would make a fakirstare in disbelief.
(iii) True
(iv) False
Macavity is not well-dressed as its coat is dusty out of neglect. Its eyes are sunken, and not bright.
(v) True

Question 6. Having read the poem, try to guess whether the poet is fond of cats. If so, why does he call Macavity a fiend and monster?

Answer

Yes, it seems like the poet is fond of cats. He calls Macavity a 'fiend' and a 'monster' because he might have wanted to portray an evil side. He might have used a cat in order to create a negative character who is a criminal and escapes easily from police. The quick movements of a cat and its mysterious eyes might have influenced him to create this evil character in the form of a cat.

Question 7. Has the poet used exaggeration for special effect? Find a few examples of it and read those lines aloud.

Answer

Yes, the poet has used exaggerations such as the cat's defiance of gravity and it being called a 'monster of depravity' and a 'fiend' in order to enhance the mystery surrounding the cat. Since the cat is shown to be super fast as nobody from the Scotland Yard to the flying squad can catch it on the scene of crime, these exaggerations have been used by Eliot to lay stress on this monstrous as well as surprising and mysterious nature of Macavity.
Examples:
(i) 'He's the bafflement of Scotland Yard, the Flying Squad's despair'.
(ii) 'He breaks the law of gravity'.
(iii) 'His powers of levitation would make a fakir stare.'
(iv) 'He's a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity.'