Kittens (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Robert Peters
- First Published: 1967
- Type of Work: Lyric/elegy
- Genres: Poetry, Lyric poetry, Elegy
- Subjects: Children, Parents and children, Cats, Fathers, Death or dying, Funeral rites or ceremonies, Bereavement or grief, Pets, Animals, Joy or sorrow
The Poem
“Kittens” is a long poem written in free verse; its short lines are grouped into ten stanzas. It is an elegy, a poem written in grief or mourning. This poem is also a song, a lyric lament for Robert Peters’s son Richard, who died suddenly in childhood. It laments unfulfilled wishes and lost promise. The poem is generated by the boy’s wish to have kittens and his father’s wish that his son had lived to experience more of the world.
The poem begins with the kittens that finally did come to fulfill the child’s wish—after his death. They are filled...
[The entire page is 1418 words long]
Join eNotes
Over 3,500 study guides, question and answer forums, literature criticism, reference content, and much more!
