In Thomas Gray's poem, "Ode on the Death of a Favorite Cat, Drowned in a Goldfish Tank," he shares the story of a cat named Selima while also teaching a lesson to the readers. Although the poem is funny, it is intelligently written and organized. Gray integrates humor, imagery, and advice into a story to form a poem that will never be forgotten. Both the poem itself and the message conveyed in it are recognisable. Thomas Gray's style and use of imagery, diction, and structure in his attractive poetry help to caution his readers against the pursuit of opulence and superiority. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The style and message of Thomas Gray's poetry allows me to easily connect to it. First, it portrays a funny cat scene with great detail that is fun to read. There is an iambic rhythm throughout the poem as well as a rhyme scheme. At first glance his writing may seem too immature or playful, but beneath the surface Thomas Gray manages to expertly organize words and structure. I connect with his style because I'm very silly too and I like funny poetry with a deeper meaning. As for advice to readers, I will always remember this poem and Thomas Gray's warning. He absorbs readers and captures their attention when he describes the cat's story, just like a children's story. Gray allows readers, myself included, to put themselves in the cats' shoes. It builds anticipation and tempts readers throughout the poem until we fall into the warning trap, realizing our mistake too late. Thomas Gray integrates imagery from different senses to draw readers into the poem so they can relate to Selima the cat. As for visual imagery, start by giving readers the visual perspective of a cat. He describes in detail the side of the vase, “where the gayest art of China had been dyed” (line 2), because at the cat's level of vision the side of the vase is “high” (line 1). Rather than acting as a spectator of the scene, Gray forces readers to share the cat's experience. Likewise, Gray uses tactile imagery to further connect readers to the cat. At the beginning, readers physically feel the cat's happiness when Selima's “conscious tail declares its joy” (line 7). Similarly, readers feel themselves slipping and falling into the tub when “the slippery edge has deceived their feet” (line 29), and then they fall “headlong” (line 30). Although the poem is not written from a personal point of view, Gray effectively places readers in the scene so that they learn from Selima's mistake. Thomas Gray uses diction throughout the poem to effectively deliver his advice to avoid temptations of opulence and superiority. The words he uses to describe the cat's physical appearance have connotations of nobility and luxury. For example, his paws are "velvet" (line 9), his ears are "jet" (line 11), and his eyes are "emerald" (line 11). Therefore, Gray warns readers against cats or people who decorate themselves elaborately. Furthermore, the cat desires to be superior and noble. She is initially attracted to the “tall” vase (line 1) with its “blue flowers” ​​(line 3). Light blue is defined as the color of the sky as well as a heraldic blue. Furthermore, Selima seeks out the goldfish that has “the Tyrian color of scaly armor through the richest purple” (line 17) and “betrayed a golden splendor” (18). Gray's choice of "betrayed" foreshadows the end of the poem and Selima's fall. Therefore, Gray suggests that a vain desire to appear superior and noble can be.