Analysis of Curiosity by Alastair Reid Essay -- essays research papers

The poem entitled â€Å"Curiosity† written by Alastair Reid is a symbolic poem that uses cats as a metaphor for humans. It relates felines to people in the sense of curiosity, and what could be considered actually living life to the fullest. Essentially, this work contradicts the popular phrase, â€Å"curiosity killed the cat† by placing it within a broader context. Instead of discouraging curiosity, Reid explains why people should embrace it. In the first stanza, the author argues that the cat may have died from curiosity, but that it may have been a chosen death. â€Å"Or else curious to see what death was like, having no cause to go on licking paws, or fathering litter on litter of kittens, predictably.† (lines, 2-5) Basically, the author is relating a cat’s lack of interest in life and curiosity in death to a suicidal situation. He is using predictability and boredom with life as a justifiable excuse to explore the depths of death, purely out of curiosity. The second stanza is the author’s first admittance that curiosity can be dangerous, but only when one is constantly distrusting what is ...