Poetry: Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats

Overview
"Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats" is a 1939 collection of light verse that invents a bustling cast of felines, each sketched with economy, wit, and musical cadence. Playful, urbane, and delightfully eccentric, the poems treat cats as distinct personalities rather than mere animals, turning small domestic scenes into miniature dramas and comedies. The tone is affectionate and mischievous, inviting readers of all ages to enjoy the clever language and memorable characters.

Style and Tone
The verse combines plainspoken narrative with sophisticated wordplay, often switching meters and rhythms to suit a cat's temperament. Rhyme and alliteration are used as tools of characterization; a swaggering, insolent cat gets jagged, bouncy lines, while a solemn, venerable creature is accorded stately, measured phrasing. The poems balance childlike charm with adult wit, yielding verses that can be read aloud for musical effect or savored for their subtle jokes.

Structure and Major Poems
Each poem functions as a vignette focused on a single cat or feline type, and the book lacks a continuous plot, favoring portraiture over narrative. "The Naming of Cats" meditates on identity and mystery, insisting that a cat possesses an inscrutable true name. "The Rum Tum Tugger" and "The Old Gumbie Cat" showcase contrasting temperaments, while "Macavity: The Mystery Cat" depicts a master criminal in comic detective-story fashion. "Mr. Mistoffelees" highlights magical flair and showmanship, and "Old Deuteronomy" presents a sage-like patriarchal figure whose presence commands reverence.

Themes and Characterization
Eliot treats each cat as an emblem of human foible or archetype, vanity, laziness, curiosity, theatricality, without moralizing. The poems observe social roles and manners through animal masks, allowing gentle satire of urban life, class, and eccentricity. A recurrent motif is the unknowable inner life of cats: they are at once domesticated and sovereign, intimate companions who remain delightfully aloof, a paradox that fuels much of the humor and affection.

Language and Musicality
The language is deliberately performative: internal rhythm, refrains, and sing-song cadences make the verses apt for recitation. Eliot sprinkles colloquial touches and playful invented names, producing lines that are at once precise and whimsical. The melodic quality of the poems made them natural candidates for musical adaptation by composers seeking character-driven numbers and vivid imagery.

Historical Context and Intent
Composed in an era when Eliot also pursued serious modernist poetry, these verses reveal a lighter public persona and a desire to entertain. The nickname "Old Possum", a pet name used in private correspondence, became the playful persona behind the book's address to readers. The poems were published at a time when light verse and parlor entertainment remained popular, and they fit comfortably into a tradition of humorous anthropomorphic writing while bearing Eliot's unmistakable verbal craft.

Legacy and Adaptations
The collection achieved enduring popularity and reached new audiences when Andrew Lloyd Webber adapted several poems into the stage musical "Cats," transforming character sketches into theatrical showcases. The musical amplified the personalities Eliot created, turning lyric vignettes into songs and dance numbers that further embedded these feline portraits in popular culture. The original poems continue to be read for their linguistic invention, warmth, and uncanny ability to make ordinary cats seem like entire worlds.