Jellicle cats () are a fictional type of feline from ''

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' (1939) is a collection of whimsical Light poetry, light poems by T. S. Eliot about Cat, feline psychology and sociology, published by Faber and Faber. It serves as the basis for Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 ...

'', a 1939 collection of

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. Nonsense poetry i ...

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

. Jellicle cats were adapted for the 1981 stage musical ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

'' by

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

, where the wide array of diverse Jellicles is central to the musical's

worldbuilding Worldbuilding is the process of constructing an imaginary world or setting (narrative), setting, sometimes associated with a fictional universe. Developing the world with coherent qualities such as a history, geography, culture and ecology is a k ...

Origins

"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", depicting the cats as commonly nocturnal, black and white, scruffy cats. Eliot specifically mentions how they gather at an event called the "Jellicle Ball". The name "Jellicle" comes from Eliot's unpublished poem "Pollicle Dogs and Jellicle Cats", where "Pollicle dogs" is a corruption of "poor little dogs" and "Jellicle cats" of "dear little cats".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 source material, the Jellicles in ''

'' 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 Improvisation, often shortened to improv, is the activity of making or doing something not planned beforehand, using whatever can be found. The origin of the word itself is in the Latin "improvisus", which literally means un-foreseen. Improvis ...

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 music ...

, a former "glamour cat", and the kidnapping of the Jellicle

patriarch The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and ...

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 Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

traditions, historic and literary figures, as well as geographical locations. When not taken from a corresponding eponymous poem, many of the musical's character names are 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 '' Log ...

In popular culture

The 1976 film ''

Logan's Run ''Logan's Run'' is a science fiction novel by American writers William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. Published in 1967, the novel depicts a dystopic Malthusian future society in which both population and the consumption of resources ...

'' has the old man offering one of his Jellicle cats to Logan. Since 2014, the refrain of “Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats” from the musical cast recording has been a

running gag A running gag, or running joke, is a literary device that takes the form of an amusing joke or a comical reference and appears repeatedly throughout a work of literature or other form of storytelling. Though they are similar, catchphrases are no ...

on the animated series ''

BoJack Horseman ''BoJack Horseman'' is an American adult animation, adult animated tragicomedy television series created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg. It stars the voices of Will Arnett, Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, Paul F. Tompkins, and Aaron Paul. Set primarily in ...

''; the refrain plays on a loop as the “on hold” music for anthropomorphic cat Princess Carolyn. The 2017

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 ima ...

''Jellicle Cats'' published by

Faber and Faber Faber and Faber Limited, commonly known as Faber & Faber or simply Faber, is an independent publishing house in London. Published authors and poets include T. S. Eliot (an early Faber editor and director), W. H. Auden, C. S. Lewis, Margaret S ...

adapts "The Song of the Jellicles" as a standalone poem.

Madame Tussauds New York Madame Tussauds New York (UK , US ; the family themselves pronounce it ) is a tourist attraction located on 42nd Street in the Times Square neighborhood of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Madame Tussauds was founded by the wax sculptor, ...

displays

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 excel ...

s of some of the musical's Jellicle cats since 2019, including Grizabella who performs the show's theme song. The 2020 ''

Dungeons & Daddies ''Dungeons & Daddies'' is an actual play comedy podcast. First aired in January 2019, the podcast has featured three main seasons, as well as some mini campaigns. Primary cast members are Matt Arnold, Anthony Burch, Will Campos, Beth May, and ...

'' episode "The Jellicle Ball" features a game played with a team of Jellicle cats.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{Cats navbox Literary characters introduced in 1939 Anthropomorphic cats T. S. Eliot