Jellicle cats are a fictional
type of
feline from
T. S. Eliot's 1939
light poetry
Light poetry or light verse is poetry that attempts to be humorous. Light poems are usually brief, can be on a frivolous or serious subject, and often feature word play including puns, adventurous rhyme, and heavy alliteration. Typically, light ...
book
''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats''.
Jellicle cats were first mentioned in Eliot's 1933 poem "Five-Finger Exercises" and later developed in ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats''. They were given further characterization in
Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 stage musical ''
Cats'', which was based on Eliot's book. The large cast of diverse cats is an important part of the
worldbuilding
Worldbuilding is the process of constructing a world, originally an imaginary one, sometimes associated with a fictional universe. Developing an imaginary setting with coherent qualities such as a history, geography, and ecology is a key task f ...
of ''Cats''. Many of these characters originated from Eliot's book, while others are named after characters from other works by Eliot or were invented for the musical.
Background
"Jellicle cats" are briefly mentioned in
T. S. Eliot's 1933 poem "Five-Finger Exercises", although they are not described until Eliot's poem "The Song of the Jellicles", where Jellicle cats were depicted as commonly nocturnal black and white, scruffy cats. Specifically, Eliot mentions that they like to gather at an event called the "Jellicle Ball". The name "Jellicle" comes from an unpublished poem by Eliot entitled "Pollicle Dogs and Jellicle Cats", where "Pollicle dogs" is a corruption of "poor little dogs" and "Jellicle cats" of "dear little cats".
In contrast with their original poem, the Jellicles in ''
Cats'' possess many kinds of coat-patterns, diverse personalities and individual talents. Many of the ensemble characters were created by the original 1981 London cast through extensive
improvisation sessions held during the rehearsal process.
Musical theatre scholar Vagelis Siropoulos noted that the level of detail given to each character was crucial in fleshing out the fantasy world of ''Cats'', with even the minor cats having established personalities, relationships and hierarchies within the tribe. In the musical, sub-plots involving individual Jellicle cats include the struggle of
Grizabella
Grizabella the Glamour Cat is a main character in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical ''Cats''. Lonely and decrepit, Grizabella seeks acceptance from the other Jellicle cats but is initially ostracised. She sings the most famous song from the musical ...
, a former "glamour cat", and the kidnapping of the Jellicle
patriarch
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in certai ...
,
Old Deuteronomy
Old Deuteronomy is a character in T. S. Eliot's 1939 '' Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' and its 1981 musical adaptation, ''Cats''. He is a wise and beloved elderly cat, further serving as the Jellicle patriarch in the musical. The role of O ...
.
A total of 54 cat names are given in ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'',
most of which Eliot derived from British culture, including references to
Anglican traditions, historic and literary figures, as well as geographical locations.
When not taken from a corresponding eponymous poem, many of the character names from the musical are taken from Eliot's poem "
The Naming of Cats
"The Naming of Cats" is a poem in T. S. Eliot's 1939 poetry book ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats''. It was adapted into a musical number in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical '' Cats'', and has also been quoted in other films, notably '' Lo ...
".
[
]
In popular culture
Although originally published as part of a collection of poems, "The Song of the Jellicles" was published by Faber and Faber in 2017 as a standalone picture book
A picture book combines visual and verbal narratives in a book format, most often aimed at young children. With the narrative told primarily through text, they are distinct from comics, which do so primarily through sequential images. The images ...
titled ''Jellicle Cats''. Madame Tussauds New York
Madame Tussauds New York (UK /təˈsɔːdz/, US /tuːˈsoʊz/; the family themselves pronounce it /ˈtuːsoʊ/) is a tourist attraction located on 42nd Street in the Times Square neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Madame Tussaud ...
features wax figure
A wax sculpture is a depiction made using a waxy substance. Often these are effigies, usually of a notable individual, but there are also death masks and scenes with many figures, mostly in relief.
The properties of beeswax make it an excell ...
s of a few of the Jellicle cats from the musical, including one of Grizabella that sings "Memory".
In Season 1 Episode 35 of Dungeons and Daddies, titled "The Jellicle Ball",
References
Citations
Bibliography
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Anthropomorphic cats