T. S. Eliot has been known as a poet and critic for being so serious and moralistic that he might teach his readers. Yet, he published Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats in 1939 for children, especially for his friends. In this sense, this poetry is aimedat amusing children with an allegory of a variety of cats. Usually, the style that children like lies in amusement in form and satirical language in use. Eliot knew it; so it is an interesting task to examine the significance of the old possum, his nickname, from the poetry for children, and the poet hidden behind the nickname. The Old Possum poetry appears to take into account what children like: a poetry collection of amusement and seriousness put together for children using lively rhythms and regular rhymes according to the characteristics of practical cats. The poetry shows a variety of each cat’s characters and habits, which, the poet believes, practically reflect various forms of human life. Above all, Eliot tried to associate practical cats in profound meditation with himself as a thoughtful, yet invisible poet and critic just like the wild, yet shy animal: a metaphor of the old possum in poetry.

• 양병현(상지대학교) | Byung-Hyun Yang