21 pages • 42 minutes read
Edward LearThe Owl and the Pussy-Cat
Fiction | Poem | Adult | Published in 1871A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Idyll of True Love
“The Owl and the Pussy-Cat” portrays an equal, healthy love that transcends differences. In their reciprocal admiration for each other, their joint quest, and happy wedding, the owl-and-pussy-cat pair offer a model of an ideal romance and marriage. Lear builds this theme by complementing romantic settings and tropes with the meaningful actions of the characters.
The owl and the pussy-cat are always shown in enchanted, beautiful settings, such as taking a romantic boat ride across the sea. During the boat ride, the owl makes traditional romantic gestures like looking at the star-filled sky above and singing a gentle, admiring song to the beautiful cat. The pair sail together on an abstract, mysterious sea for a similarly mysterious period of time and reach an island with an enchanted air. After their wedding, they dance on the romantic setting of a moonlit beach, “hand in hand, on the edge of the sand” (Line 29).
These settings and gestures are romantic enough, and are often featured in stories of love. What fleshes them out is the poet’s treatment of the relationship between the owl and the pussy-cat. Notably, the poem does not feature certain tropes of romance and fairytale, such as a saving knight or the damsel in distress. From the onset, the owl and the pussy-cat are shown as friends and equals. The owl sings to the cat, complimenting her as, “O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love” (Line 7). The cat, in turn, praises the owl: “You elegant fowl! / How charmingly sweet you sing” (Lines 12-13). The decision to get married is mutual and instantaneous, as if the owl and the cat have one mind. In a joint enterprise, they undertake a long quest, and reach the island. From the second stanza onward, the owl and the pussy-cat function as a team and are addressed collectively as “they.” This symbolizes the individuals joining into a unit for the common cause of love.
Significantly, the treatment of the characters is not gendered. While the piggy-wig is described with the pronouns “he” and “him,” the owl and the pussy-cat are not given individual pronouns. In other poems, Lear specifies that the pussy-cat is feminine, while the owl is masculine. Nevertheless, in “The Owl and the Pussy-Cat,” the lead pair are not bound by traditional gender roles. They are also free of the constraints imposed by the difference in species. This indicates that their love transcends all kinds of traditional expectations and descriptions: Theirs is an idyllic romance and marriage, motivated solely by love and the desire to be together.
Life as a Voyage
The voyage across the sea to the island where the bong-tree grows illustrates an important theme: the idea that life and love are a journey. Like all journeys, life and love work out as a play between the planned and the unexpected, the regular and the absurd. To highlight this interplay, Lear uses both realistic and whimsical elements in the poem. The owl and the pussy-cat have obviously planned for a sea voyage of some length, since they are carrying rations in the form of honey, as well as cash, with the cash further bundled in a larger bank note. Further, the decision to get married, though mutual and prompted by love, is not planned, which is why the duo are not carrying a ring.
In a realistic scenario, the couple could sail back home to get married. However, they decide to sail away “for a year and a day” (Line 16) to procure a ring. They seem to know exactly where to find the ring, since they are specifically sailing to the island of the bong-tree. However, there is an element of surprise about finding the pig in the wood, bearing the ring. Once they have the ring, the wedding is ensured, though the officiant is a turkey who lives on a hill. The wedding feast is expected tradition, as is the wedding dance, but what the owl and the Pussy-Cat eat is mystifying: mincemeat and the quince fruit. What is most unusual is that they eat the food with “a runcible spoon” (Line 28), a spoon made of an unknown substance or in an unknown shape. This constant juxtaposition of known and unknown shows that life often contains unexpected elements: The poem suggests that, instead of fretting over the unknown, it is best to approach love and life with the spirit of discovery.
Discovery is a key motif here, with the owl and the pussy-cat approaching the mysterious island like explorers. The island is shrouded in mystery because it is never given a name, nor is it explained what a bong-tree is; thus, it represents a new world to be discovered. The reader participates in the owl and pussy-cat’s discovery and exploration of the island, when they find, step-by-step, the ring-bearing piggy-wig in the woods, the turkey who lives on the hill, and a wedding location on the beach. Another relevant motif Lear uses here is that of the quest. The owl and the pussy-cat are on a journey for a specific object, much like pilgrims questing for the holy grail or a magical artefact. The artefact here is the ring which is essential to the wedding ceremony of the owl and the pussy-cat. Thus, the poem suggests the ultimate quest in life is the quest for true love.
Joy in the Absurd
The absurd colors every element of “The Owl and the Pussy-Cat.” Firstly, the central pair itself is a bizarre choice: an owl and a cat, as different species, don’t really belong together in the real natural world. Furthermore, the duo and the other animals in the poem are anthropomorphized without any allegorical purpose. The owl and the pussy-cat do not symbolize emotions or morals, as is usual in the literary tradition of talking animals. They are animals who behave as humans simply because they do.
Lear establishes the poem’s absurdity as a given, and proceeds to add on even stranger details, such as the owl and the pussy-cat taking a boat for a long sea voyage, the boat being a precise shade of “pea-green” (Line 2), with the duo bringing “honey” (Line 3) as rations. While these absurd elements should appear bizarre, they actually evoke a sense of fun and whimsy. The universe they create is one where the usual rules are broken, and new things can be forged with joy and imagination. It is the perfect world for children, and also for adults indulging in childlike play. The poem thus suggests that it is meaningful to seek joy in the absurd.
The absurd as a source of wonder and fun is also established through Lear’s inventiveness with language. The pig is called a “Piggy-wig” (Line 18) because the term takes something known—a pig—and adds an unexpected word, “wig,” that seems to differentiate the pig from an ordinary barnyard one. The “Bong-Tree” (Line 17) is a made-up tree species, and the meaningful-sounding “runcible” (Line 28) is an invented name for a substance or an unknown quality related to a “spoon” (Line 28). These names simply exist in the poem to enhance the poem’s lyrical aspects, and because they are fun words to speak aloud. Similarly, the owl and the pussy-cat are shown eating “mince” (Line 27) and “quince” (Line 27) because the words rhyme, not because the food pairing would make sense in real life.
The poem’s whimsical use of details and language shows that life and art do not always need to be meaningful in the traditional sense to be considered worthy. Art which is playful is worthy too, and life’s joys lie in silly details. The absurd is not separate from real life, but exists within reality. By laughing at the absurd which is present in everyday life, one can find joy in what otherwise seems mundane reality. Lear’s use of everyday objects in absurd contexts points out this deeper thematic concern. Consider that an owl and cat sailing together is absurd, but an owl and a cat are also real creatures. A “pea-green” (Line 2) boat is whimsical, yet a boat is a real thing, and pea-green is a shade the reader can visualize. “Runcible” is of unknown origin, but the spoon is a common object. These instances highlight that the absurd does not exist outside of life, but is an integral part of it. If one opens their eyes to the absurd which exists all around, the world would seem a more joyous, hopeful place.
