Mr. Mistoffelees

Written by T.S. Eliot, “Mr. Mistoffelees” is a humorous, whimsical poem from the children’s poetry collection Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats (1939), which tells the story of a group of cats, each with a unique personality and character traits. Eliot initially authored the poems to entertain his godchildren, but once published, the collection became one of his best-selling works, eventually inspiring composer Andrew Lloyd Webber’s famous musical Cats. Though Eliot earned his place in literary history with his deeply philosophical and modernist works, poems like “Mr. Mistoffelees” demonstrate his lighter, more playful mood. Composed in an irregular rhyme scheme, the poem is inspired by the nursery rhyme tradition and the nonsense verse of poets like Edward Lear. The poem describes the cat-magician Mr. Mistoffelees and the many tricks he pulls—the last of which is his most striking and ironic. Filled with tongue-in-cheek humor and a child-like sense of wonder, the poem has a theatrical, musical quality.

Poet Biography

Thomas Stearns (T.S.) Eliot (1888-1965) is widely regarded as one of the most influential English poets of the 20th century. Born in a wealthy family in St. Louis, Missouri, Eliot attended Harvard University, where he earned a BA in comparative literature and an MA in English. In 1914, Eliot moved to London, where he married Vivienne Haigh-Wood. The marriage was troubled from its onset.

Eliot initially worked in London as a banker and a teacher, publishing his poetry with the help of the influential modernist poet Ezra Pound, with whom he formed a close friendship. "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" was published in Poetry in 1915, immediately marking Eliot as a rising star in the London literary scene. The poem was included in Eliot’s first book of poems, Prufrock and Other Observations (1917). Eliot published The Waste Land in 1922; this poem has become part of the poetic canon of the 20th century. Eliot’s poems capture the zeitgeist of his time, articulating the post-World War I despair that hung heavy in the air. The poems explored relevant themes like the aimlessness of the modern condition, the inability to form romantic relationships, and the search for meaning—making them perennial classics. Yet, Eliot’s personal and poetic vision shifted throughout his life. In 1927, he converted to Anglicanism, a form of Protestantism followed in England. From the late 1920s onward, he started to explore more spiritual and Christian themes in his poetry, publishing poems like “Ash Wednesday” (1927) and “Marina” (1930). He also experimented with form, publishing the play Murder in the Cathedral (1935) and the playful poems of Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats (1939). During this period, he separated from Wood, and had relationships with many other women. Meanwhile, his reputation as an influential poet and critic steadily grew in both the United States and in Europe. In 1948, Eliot was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. He married Esmé Valerie Fletcher in 1957; the marriage was happy by all accounts. Eliot died in 1965.

Poem Text

Eliot, T.S. “Mr. Mistoffelees.” 1939. Academy of American Poets.

Summary

“Mr. Mistoffelees” is structured as a direct address to the reader urging them to meet Mr. Mistoffelees, “The Original Conjuring Cat” (Line 2). The magic of Mr. Mistoffelees is nothing at which to be scoffed, since all his tricks are entirely original. No similar cat exists in the city, with Mr. Mistoffelees holding all the patents on performing “surprising illusions” (Line 8). Examine him as much as one wants, but his tricks are impossible to learn. Such is his “[c]onjuring [t]urn” (Line 15): Even the greatest magicians can learn from Mr. Mistoffelees.

Mr. Mistoffelees derives much of his power from being a small, stealthy black cat. He can fit into the smallest spaces and elegantly walk over the thinnest rails. He can pick out any card from a deck and throw the dice any way he desires. One may be fooled into thinking Mr. Mistoffelees is merely hunting for mice; in fact, he is plotting his next trick. He can play around with a cork or a bit of fish paste; he can make forks and knives disappear from the house and transport them to unexpected places, like the lawn.

Even his personality is tricky and deceptive. Mr. Mistoffelees can seem like a shy, quite sort of cat, but one can hear his voice on the roof when he is curled by the fire. And when he’s prowling on the roof, a purr can be heard at the fireside. All these feats are “incontestable proof” (Line 49) of Mr. Mistoffelees’s genius. He manages to trick the family into thinking he’s in the garden when he is asleep in the hall, but his last trick was the most phenomenal, when he produced seven new kittens “right out of a hat!” (Line 55) Such is the tale of Mr. Mistoffelees—the cleverest cat of all.