Literary Terms

"Curiosity" Literary Terms

Maddie Dahl: March 19th, 2008

Type of Poem: “Curiosity” is characterized as an open form poem with a set metrical pattern. Reid is a postmodernist writer. Postmodernism developed at the end of World War II when society was undergoing major displacement and disillusionment. Reid's structure correlates to the breakaway from strict patterning and definite formalism.

Meter and Feet: Each line follows a trochaic pattern (stress followed by unstress). There are four feet per line, making “Curiosity” a tetrameter. "Curiosity" is a trochaic tetrameter.

Purpose: Reid’s purpose in writing “Curiosity” is to provoke readers to question their roles in society, their values, and their lifestyles.

Tone: The tone of “Curiosity” is explanatory and romantic. The poem explains the fundamental differences between two simplified types of people. It is romantic in that the roaming spirit of cats is romanticized instead of bitingly poignant."Curiosity"'s tone has elements of a carpe diem poem; it does convey a sense of urgency to readers. The poem urges readers to live fully and catapult themselves into adventure in order to fully appreciate the offerings life has to give.

Symbolism: Reid uses cats to symbolize free-spirited and independently natured people. Dogs represent people that adhere to the standards imposed upon them by society and themselves. Readers are left to feel that dogs are disgruntled at the behavior of cats because they are limited by their self-imposed roles.

Enjambment: The most intriguing enjambment is located in the first stanza. The first stanza and the title meld together to provide a new outlook on the old adage “curiosity killed the cat and the answer brought it back.” According to Reid, “Curiosity may have killed the cat” (Title-1).

Caesura: Reid's use of caesuras is strewn throughout "Curiosity." Reid begins each stanza with medial and terminal caesuras. The rest of the stanzas are constructed with a healthy combination of enjambments and medial caesuras.

Imagery: “Licking paws” (4), “smell rats” (10), “leave home” (10) all describe stereotypical cat activities.

Cataloguing: According to Reid, “dogs say cats love too much, are irresponsible, are changeable, marry too many wives, desert their children, [and] chill all dinner tables with tales of their nine lives” (26-9). By creating a fluid catalogue of complaints, readers are eventually overwhelmed by the dogs’ complaints and thus sympathize with the cats.

Diction: “Litter” (5) is the proper name for a set of newborn kittens. However, “litter” can also mean waste. Reid allows his readers to understand the dogs’ perceptions of cats by utilizing words like “litter” (5), “irresponsible” (26), and “contradictory” (31). Cats are also described as “changeable” (27) which implies a fickle temperament. Reid does not condemn cats for these qualities but points out that they are all part of being knowledgeable and curious. “Wagging” (14) evokes an image of a condescending, wagging finger. The dogs wag their “incurious heads” (14) at the curious cats in a condescending, blindly critical manner.

Paradox: “Dying is what the living do, […]/ dying is what the loving do” (40-1). This sentence implies that one must take great risks in order to fully live and appreciate living. In order to fully love, one must surrender oneself completely and thus metaphorically die. “Dead dogs are those who do not know/ that dying is what, to live, each has to do” (42-3). This sentence implies that those who are restricted by their fear of death and pain will not fully live to their greatest potential.

Irony: “Only the curious have, if they live, a tale/worth telling at all” (24-5). It is ironic that is the curious that have tales to tell in that they are the members of society that are most often shunned and then condemned as bothersome and meddlers.