Question

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

Answer 1

Yes, the poet has used exaggerations such as the cat’s defiance of gravity and it is 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 Scotland Yard to the flying squad can catch it on the scene of the 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.’