A Deeper Analysis of The Viking Cat
Barbara’s The Viking Cat is a riveting poem that evokes the reader’s mind to delve deep into what she is trying to bring to the fore in this work of art. The poem is undoubtedly a simple series of lines that speak of a simple domestic cat from an outward perspective. However, a closer look, especially towards the end, provides the reader with the first clue of the poem. The last three lines speak of a man on a quest to please his woman, whom the persona refers to herself as the queen. With this notion in mind, it suffices to maintain that Barbara’s poem speaks of a well-praised man by his “queen” and his desire to meet what she describes of him.
Foremost from the onset, the poet has employed diction to help bolster the secondary meaning of the poem. In this case, the poet uses specific word choices to reveal the hidden meaning of referring to her lover or husband as a cat. Essentially, there is no way a cat can be “…Big and broad-chested, strong of shoulder and limb, red-gold barbarian…” (Thompson). As such, by describing the cat in this fashion, it is clear the reader would pause at this juncture and marvel at the physical description of the cat. The reader can tell that the persona’s lover is physically endowed with muscles and is physically intimidating. The persona could have used the word choice in this poem to refrain from meeting the backlash of possibly praising her lover openly and describing him as a cat. This understatement bolsters the glorification of the lover. Therefore, through potent usage of word choice, the poet has achieved a situation whereby she reduces the glorification of the persona’s lover and ends up gaining the glorification of the lover.
Secondly, the poet also uses repetition in this poem. It is clear in words such as “ancient,” whereby looking at how this word has been used severally in the poem to explain the traits of the persona’s lover, the poet employs the use of repetition to bolster her assertion concerning the persona’s praise of her lover. “…it is through repetition that time can be made more intelligible….cosmic repetition is hailed as evidence of that which is permanent and unchanging…” (Sun, 2011). Therefore, with this notion, the reader can tell that the poet used the aspect of repetition to relay to the readers why she thinks of her lover as having traits and instincts of old when she says, “…his instinct is ancient when he roams, warring with cat tribes…” (Thompson). In this case, the persona mentions to the reader that her lover’s instincts are from the days of old and are, therefore, not prone to making mistakes. By repetition of the word ancient, it is clear that the poet intends to ensure that the reader is aware that the cat succeeds because the prowess that he has is not newly acquired. As such, the poet can achieve her agenda of praising the persona’s lover subtly.
Besides, the poet extensively uses metaphors in several lines of the poem. The aim of using metaphors was to increase the chances of the readers’ comprehension of the feeling and meaning in the poem. By so saying, the metaphor compares two different things but has some things in common. As such, the poet created a verbal picture that helps readers gain an insight clearly and ensures that the poet relays the feelings more potently. In the poem, “…when he slays mice, when he stalks moths when he plunders nests, when he ravishes the insect kingdom when he lays his booty at my feet—“(Thompson). The metaphor is used to liken the way a cat kills mice to the warrior, the persona’s lover who does all necessary to provide for his wife. By likening him to the warriors of old, the Vikings, the poet can paint a picture in the minds of the readers. As such, it is clear that the poet gains the usage of metaphor where one thing is virtually another or that one acts like another in a way.
Also, the poet has employed simile to try to describe how the persona praises her lover. The essence of using a simile is to reinforce emphasis. As such, it is vital to note that similes make the most of hyperbole or even exaggeration to build on emphasis. In the poem, for instance, the poet uses “…the Viking Cat’s eyes gleam like metals heating on an ancient forge.” (Thompson) to show an exaggeration of the lover’s eyes. There is no way human eyes or even that of a cat can glow like a metal rod in the metal forgery department. With this in mind, it is sufficient to maintain that the exaggerated simile has been used efficaciously to draw a comparison and bring to the fore a full and compelling description.
Furthermore, to a large extent, the poet has used personification as the sole way of advancing her message to the readers. In this case, personification pertains to using objects or animals and giving them human features or roles. In the poem, the readers can clearly tell that the cat has been overwhelmingly personified and given human features. In the poem, the persona says, “…Big and broad-chested, strong of shoulder and limb, red-gold barbarian, the Viking Cat’s eyes gleam, like metals, heating on an ancient, forge” (Thompson) to personify the cat and help stretch the limits of reality to help make the poem more vivid in the readers’ minds.
Lastly, the poem employed the use of atavism, which is essentially the “…rare reappearance, in a modern organism, of a trait from a distant evolutionary ancestor…” (Walia et al., 2010). In the poem, the lover is portrayed as an ancient Viking warrior who goes on a plundering spree. Historically, they were dreadful warriors in battle and often took spoils back home. As such, despite being fearsome warriors in the field, they were simple farmers and fishermen. Through atavism, the persona uses these factors to describe her lover, a provider who goes out to toil and brings her what he has made after working, for she is his queen. The fact that Vikings were farmers, has been used to how good and homely they were, just like a cat is.
References
Walia, I., Arora, H. S., Barker, E. A., Delgado III, R. M., & Frazier, O. H. (2010). Snake heart: A case of atavism in a human being. Texas Heart Institute Journal, 37(6), 687.
Sun, C. C. C. (2011). The poetics of repetition in English and Chinese lyric poetry. University of Chicago Press.
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Question 
Paper 5: Essay on Barbara Thomson’s “The Viking Cat.”
On the surface, “The Viking Cat” is a poem about a simple house cat, but in choosing to make an extended comparison of the cat with Vikings, it is clear the poet has more in mind than simply celebrating the speaker’s cat.
A Deeper Analysis of The Viking Cat
In a five to six-paragraph essay having a clear thesis (position) on what the poet is doing, persuasive topic sentences, and specific and concrete detail, consider the poetic devices used, including specific repetition, metaphor, simile, word choice, and personification to determine what the poet’s purpose is. Think, too, about atavism/atavistic traits as these relate to poem.