CAT AND MOUSE

the text of the poem is on page 33 of your books

published online text of the poem *

some introductory thoughts on what the poem is about

• The setting is clearly established in the first line - a high hillside summit, 'cropped' by grazing sheep, under a hot sun. This kind of upland setting perhaps recalls the moorland above Ted Hughes’s native Calder Valley in West Yorkshire, England.  Compared to the open uplands and big skies, the tiny mouse appears particularly small.

• There is a sense of tension and danger - the mouse wants to take a ‘chance’ to run out but doesn't dare to, aware of the threat the cat poses.

• The contrast is emphasised between the landscape with its panoramic views (‘five mile prospect’) and the mouse's limited perspective and small horizons.

• The poem ends with a thought concerning prayer in the face of danger, but we don't know what happens to the mouse on this occasion.  If prayers for safety are offered, they will not alter the primal instincts of creatures like cats, which will instinctively kill mice.  What might all this imply about the prayers of us as humans at moments of danger?

• Hughes vividly presents us in this poem with a moment of memorable tension.  We all think we are familiar with the stereotypical dynamic which exists between cats and mice, so this poem's relative difficulty may be an attempt to compensate for that, and to get us thinking about more a primeval situation, one which might exist beyond our view of cats as loveable pets.

• Hughes as a poet has no time for comforting, 'cuddly' views of nature - instead, as someone who spent many hours of his life observing nature as it functions, he invites us to contemplate the instinctive ways in which creatures (domestic cats included) go about securing their survival, whether as predators, or potential victims.  This is all part of 'a world / Too old to alter', an environment in which natural processes dominate and endure.

some questions to consider

• Explore the use of contrasts in the poem - between the mouse and cat, the setting, perspectives. How does Hughes use these contrasts to develop a theme?

• Analyse how the clear imagery in lines like "sheep-cropped summit" and 'heat-heavy / Stupor' helps establish a sense of place.

• Why are 'Time and a world  / Too old to alter'?  Is this a positive or negative assertion in your opinion?  How might this statement relate to the processes at work between the cat and the mouse?

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the poem's structure - how does the poem present the vulnerability of the mouse in the face of the cat's killer instinct?  Or vulnerability in the face of fear - the mouse is instinctively afraid, whether a cat is present or not.

• Discuss the concept of perspective in the poem - how might the contrast between the mouse's limited viewpoint and the vast landscape highlight vulnerability?  And what might that suggest about human vulnerability?

• Analyse the ending - why do you think Hughes leaves it unclear as to whether a cat catches the mouse?

• Think about why the topic of prayer is featured - when do humans instinctively pray?

• What does the word 'contracted' mean to you?  It can mean something being shortened (large to small), but also can denote a 'contract' between two beings (God and humans??).

• What do you understand in the final line, featuring God's eye and the cat's?  What might the poem suggest about traditional ideas of a God?  Might the experience of humans and mice be paralleled in some ways?

• How might the poem enable you to think about aspects of the human condition? What similarities or differences might you find between the situation involving the cat and mouse and human situations?

some creative writing to help you understand the poem more deeply

• How might you go about writing a poem on a topic like this?  What would you feature, for example, in a poem about a cat and a mouse?  Or about a mouse and a human?  Which aspect of a mouse's existence interests you the most, and how might this form the central idea in your poem?

poems on related topics by Ted Hughes

• Esther's Tomcat (on page 27 of your books)

• Song of a Rat (on page 76 of your books)

• Hawk Roosting (on page 29 of your books)

some other lovely poems in English about mice, cats and associated topics

• Ode on the Death of a Favourite Cat drowned in a Tub of Goldfishes * by Thomas Gray

• Field Mouse’s Nest * by John Clare

• To a Mouse * by Robert Burns

• Last Words to a Dumb Friend * by Thomas Hardy

• The Naming of Cats * by T.S. Eliot

• The Cat and the Moon * by W. B. Yeats

• Modern Love * by Douglas Dunn

Two teachers from Bristol Grammar School in England discuss the poem in this outstanding podcast *.

Here is a link to an article10 Classic Poems about Cats Everyone Should Read * by Dr Oliver Tearle, a literary critic and lecturer in English at Loughborough University, England.

photo

Countryside near Todmorden, West Yorkshire, England - photo by James Harding