Page 1 :
T. S. Eliot: Skimbleshanks: The Railway Cat, About the Poet: Thomas Stearns Eliot better known as T. S. Eliot was an essayist, publisher, playwright, literary and social critic, and one of the twentieth century’s major poets. T S Eliot was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on September 26, 1888 and died on 4 January 1965. His poems in many respects articulated the disillusionment of a younger post, World War I generation with the values and conventions, both literary and social, of the Victorian era. As a critic also, he had an enormous impact on contemporary literary taste. His first book of poems,Prufrock and Other Observations, was published in 1917, and immediately established him as a leading poet of the avant-garde. With the publication of The Waste Land in 1922, now considered by many to be the single most influential poetic work of the twentieth century, Eliot’s reputation began to grow to nearly mythic proportions.By 1930, and for the next thirty years, he was the most dominant figure in poetry and literary criticism in the English-speaking world., About the Poem:, Skimbleshanks is a cat character in T. S. Eliot’s book of poetry Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats and in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Cats. The T. S Eliot poem begins as a parody of Rudyard Kipling’s poem “l’Envoi” (also known as “The Long Trail”) from Barrack-Room Ballads and Other Verses. The role of Skimbleshanks was originated in London by Kenn Wells and on Broadway by Reed Jones., Summary:, We start the journey with the poet at the railway station. The Night Mail is ready to start. But it seems that everybody is restless and their murmuring and confused movements give us a feeling that they are waiting for someone to give a “green signal” for the journey. At last when it was 11.42 we see Skimble coming out of the luggage van and the signal goes “All Clear”. The train is set for the North., Throughout the journey whenever you open your eyes or wherever the train stops you can see the cat somewhere on the train or out on the platform. The cat’s presence makes an impression that he is in charge of the train. The poet presents the cat as the most important one on the train. He is attributed with the roles of a supervisor, stationmaster’s friend or a patrolling police officer. He is present at the bagmen playing cards, he roams in the first class as well as the third class. He examines every passenger and we may feel that he never aproves of any riot. Naturally the passengers are quiet at night and it leaves an impression that he is responsible for such a calm atmosphere., While you are going to your bed in your cabin you see the cat behind the guard. It may indicate that it is he who made the guard to ask your preference of weak or strong tea in the morning. Even when you sleep peacefully the cat continues its ’rounds’ on the train. The poet makes witty comments on the cat’s habit of drinking scotch whisky to make his night watch more vigilant. At every station the cat gets out of the train and refresh himself. In the morning whe you reach your station you can see Skimble in front of you bidding good bye to you. He gives you a wave of his long brown tail and tells you “ I’ll see you again!”., This is the substance of the poem. In other words, the poet describes the importance and significance of Skimbleshanks and presents him as the most important passenger aboard the train. Eliot portrays how the cat caters to the needs of the passengers and the general security of the train., Conclusion:, Skimbleshanks is the poem on a cat that is very intelligent. As if he is a detective he checks each and every thing he remembers the faces of persons., The Night Mail is ready to start. But it seems that everybody is restless and their murmuring and confused movements give us a feeling that they are waiting for someone to give a “green signal” for the journey. At last when it was 11.42 we see Skimble coming out of the luggage van and the signal goes “All Clear”. The train is set for the North., The staffs of the railway system are in commotion to find Skimbleshanks as he is the main manager of the train. He checks for all kind of hilarity and riot and seeks the comfort of passengers. He is the one to give the train the signal to move and so without him train can’t start. He is very alert. He is quite intelligent and clever. He writes the passengers’ name on their respective berths. There is a clean new sheet for each. Floor is too clean. Light can be adjusted accordingly. There is a fan. There is a beautiful basin. You can shut the window if you feel cold. Kind of morning tea is asked. He catches fleas and mice. At night he has a cup of tea probably with some scotch in it. He takes care of everything. When a passenger leaves, he greets them.
