"My Cat Jeoffry" - April 25, 2019

“My Cat Jeoffry” was a poem written by Christopher Smart that illustrated the religious zeal that Smart possessed that ultimately showed how excessive he was with his religious beliefs. Because of how absorbed Smart was with his religion, he would pray anywhere and everywhere which became a public nuisance and caused him to be sent to various madhouses. This poem is one that Smart wrote while in confinement and it does much more than just tell a story of what Smart believed to be the actions of a very religious cat he owned. Instead, this poem uses the cat as a tool to simplify religion and show that it is not so difficult to be a Christian. To begin with, Smart opens the poem with saying how the cat appreciates God’s creation every day by looking at the sun in the mornings, “For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way.” (1404). Here, Smart is referencing the sunrise and how his cat, Jeoffry, is always near a window or maybe even a door to appreciate the sun’s warmth and beauty. As this poem continues, Smart turns towards the ten commandments and illustrates that they are easy enough to follow that even a cat could successfully follow them. Jeoffry is said to show kindness to other cats without beginning any fights, “For having consider’d God and himself he will consider his neighbor. For if he meets another cat he will kiss her in kindness.” (1405). Another characteristic that is considered sinful is violence; however, Smart points out that the cat only attacks if provoked but does not initially try to start fights with other cats, “For he will not do destruction if he is well-fed, neither will he spit without provocation.” (1405). Again, Smart is simplifying kind actions by explaining how well his cat can behave and praise God. Although Smart was likely mentally insane or unstable, his poem about his cat praising God is a creative way to illustrate that being devoted to God may not be as difficult to do, especially if a cat can do it.