Poetry · Chapter
Revenge explained
A spitcat and a snapdog confront each other in a darkly comic poem.
What happens
A spitcat and a snapdog confront each other in a darkly comic poem. The cat accuses the dog of stealing a kitten's catgut string (the note 'E') for his fiddle, and her vengeful shriek is so powerful it cracks tombs and sends missiles flying. The dog is left blind, wearing a placard that declares his condition.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
The emotional and psychological peak occurs when the speaker’s obsessive pursuit of the divine rose fragrance…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Justice and Revenge
The cat's retaliation for the theft of the kitten's string escalates into a violent, almost cosmic revenge, leaving the dog permanently blind.
- Art and Criticism
The dog's use of a stolen catgut string for his fiddle raises questions about the ethics of artistic creation and the materials it appropriates.
Characters to notice
Key passages
“A spitcat sate on a garden gate And a snapdog fared beneath; Careless and free was his mien, and he Held a fiddle-string in his teeth.”
A cat sat on a gate while a dog walked below, looking carefree and holding a fiddle-string in his mouth.
Introduces the two main characters and the object of contention.
“But that dog has trifled with art and rifled A kitten of mine, ah me! That catgut slim was marauded from him: ’Tis the string that men call E.”
The cat accuses the dog of stealing a kitten's catgut string, which musicians call the note E.
Reveals the motive for revenge: the theft of a kitten's gut for artistic use.
“Then she sounded high, in the key of Y, A note that cracked the tombs; And the missiles through the firmament flew From adjacent sleeping-rooms.”
She shrieked so loudly in the key of Y that it cracked graves and sent objects flying from nearby bedrooms.
Describes the destructive power of the cat's vengeful cry.
“And that snapdog wears a placard that bears The inscription: 'Blind from birth.'”
The dog now wears a sign that says he was born blind.
The ironic outcome: the dog is permanently blinded, and the placard falsely claims it was congenital.
