he Naming of Cats was published in 1939.

It was featured in a poetry collection

called Old Possum�s Book of Practical Cats. This collection contains whimsical
poems about feline psychology and sociology. The Naming of Cats, particularly,
describes the names of cats and how they receive them. This is addressed to humans,
as the lyrical voice tries to teach the reader more about feline life. T. S.
Eliot�s poem shows the mysteriousness and deviousness of cats. Most of the poems in
Old Possum�s Book of Practical Cats were written in 1930�s and included in letters
to T. S. Eliot�s godchildren. In 1939, these were collected and published.

The first edition of Old Possum�s Book of Practical Cats was illustrated by the
author, but when it was re-published in 1940 it was fully illustrated by Nicolas
Bentley. Later editions include illustrations by Edward Gorey (1982) and Axel
Scheffler (2009). Old Possum�s Book of Practical Cats includes 15 poems. The last
one in the collection, Cat Morgan Introduces Himself, was added in the 1952
edition.

The Naming of Cats, and the rest of Old Possum�s Book of Practical Cats, was
adapted for the stage by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Lloyd Webber�s approach to the text
is the best known musical adaptation of these poems. As well as the poems featured
in the collection, Lloyd Webber�s musical introduces characters from Eliot�s own
unpublished drafts. Furthermore, The Naming of Cats is also referenced in several
films, including Logan�s Run.
The Naming of Cats has a great number of literary devices, such as allusions,
similes, and repetitions, among others. Moreover, personification is one of the
main literary devices, as cats are given human characteristics. The lyrical voice
acquires a didactic, but playful tone. He/she explains about the naming of cats,
but, at the same time, he/she plays with external references and different types of
allusions. The rhyme scheme of the poem is ABAB and it produces a short and
rhythmical dialogue.

The Naming Of Cats Poem Analysis

The Naming of Cats is presented in one big text portion and can be read in full
here. Although the partition in stanzas can be made following the rhyme scheme, the
poem is not printed with those spaces. Therefore, the poem will be analyzed as a
whole, but those further partitions can be made. The Naming of Cats explores the
way in which cats acquire their names. The lyrical voice explains how a cat has
three different names: the name they are given by their human family, a particular
name, and an unknown name for humans.

The poem begins by stating the importance of the naming of cats:

The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,

It isn�t just one of your holiday games;

There is an allusion to Alice in Wonderland to compare the reader�s possible

thought while reading to a reference he/she knows and has read about (�You may
think at first I�m as mad as a hatter�). Notice the emphasis made in capital
letters on the number of names that a cat has. The capitalization of phrases is
crucial for the poem, as it stresses important information. Then, the lyrical voice
talks about the first name: the family name. Notice the repetition in the syntax
when the lyrical voice is giving examples of names (�Such as��/ �All of them
sensible everyday names�). These repetitions and the rhyme scheme create a
particular rhythmical pace in the poem, which is almost song-like.

Then, the lyrical voice proceeds to talk about the second name a cat has. This name
is a peculiar name which the cat possesses. The lyrical voice stresses the
importance of this name, as it brings pride to the cat. This name is also very
important, as it never belongs to more than one cat. The syntax repetitions are
made once again to continue the rhythmical pace and the metrical form of the poem.
The names given as examples are a bit eccentric and they separate themselves from
general knowledge, contrary to the ones given as examples of the first name. As the
poem advances, the things that the lyrical voice mentions and the references he/she
makes are more and more unknown to the reader.

Finally, the lyrical voice talks about the last name. There is an emphasis made on
the impossibility of knowing this name (�And that is the name that you never will
guess;/The name that no human research can discover�) and on the knowledge that the
cat has of it (�But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess�). There is some
mystery about this final name, as the narrator states that it will never be known
to humans. The rhythm changes a little and the repetition is not found in the
syntax, but on the words (�Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his
name:/His ineffable effable/Effanineffable�). This change in rhythm and structure
allows the lyrical voice to finish the poem dramatically and to capture his/her
reader�s attention.