Page 7 - Poetry-Animals

Introduction

f you love animals, you’re going to love this collection. Here
you’ll find the poetic tales (pun intended) of a host of critters,
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both real and imaginary.
Victorians loved animals too, and that love and delight in our
four-legged friends bursts forth in these verses. In these pages,
you’ll meet some charming real-life Victorian animal companions,
from the unpedigreed “Mr. Smith” (a real dog whose adventures
were chronicled in Cassell’s Family Magazine in the 1880’s and
1890’s), to Jetty Vogel’s literary cat, who sends some words to the
editor of The Girl’s Own Paper. You’ll be asked to choose between
two rather opposite views of a poet’s poodle dog, and say a
temporary farewell to a beloved polo pony.
And speaking of “tales,” one poem, discovered in a Victorian
scrap album, addresses the question of whether a tailless cat can
find happiness. Another, from St. Nicholas Magazine, gives us a
very realistic notion of how cats think; if you serve a cat in your
household, I think you’ll agree with this poet’s observations!
While cats and dogs are the most common subjects of our
“animal antics,” they’re not the only members of the animal
kingdom to be honored by Victorian poets. You’ll also find verses
here on some of the difficulties faced by the Victorian mouse
(often involving cats), the perils of being a boastful butterfly, the
hazards faced by hens, and a warning to predatory snails.
These poems also remind us that Victorians cared as strongly
about their animal companions as we do today—and mourned
their loss every bit as deeply. As odes to Grimalkin and Luray
reveal, Victorian life wasn’t all about keeping a stiff upper lip!
The poems in this collection come from a variety of British
and American sources, including a number of Victorian scrap
albums. Poems are presented, for the most part, in chronological
order, but many of the poems from scrap albums have no date.
And now—enough said! You didn’t pick up this book to listen
to me; you picked it up to have a good laugh. Time to LOL!

—Moira Allen

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