Symbolism of a Cat in a Poem by Christopher Smart

The method of the poet is to begin every line in this section with "for." The poet originally intended counterparts for each line beginning with "Let," and while he completed this task for other poems in his collection, he never wrote the "Let" responses for this set of lines. The poem as it stands is lengthy and in a form of free verse unusual for the late eighteenth century when these lines were written. There is no regular metrical pattern or rhyme scheme, there is a verbal pattern in that each line begins with "For," with most lines referring to "he," meaning the cat, and with several lines in a sequence exhibiting a specific pattern lining them together. For instance, in the first part of the poem there are ten lines counting out a series of "degrees" describing how the cat acts. The author is most interested in conveying a sense of the spiritual such as can be discerned in the actions of this one small animal, and the animal seems to prove the existence and actions of God by its very existence.

The opening line of the poem indicates the subject and the fact that this subject is being examined and speculated a