"(Of) The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles" (Together with Some Account of the Participation of the Pugs and the Poms and the Intervention of the Great Rumpus Cat) is a poem by

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist, publisher, playwright, literary critic and editor.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biogr ...

included in ''

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

'', his 1939 book of

light verse 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. Typically, light ...

. It is also included in

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 and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

's 1981 musical ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of t ...

'', which is an adaptation of the book.

Poem

"(Of) The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles" was first published on 5 October 1939 in

's ''

''. Dogs are treated as "gullible simpletons" in the book and this particular poem revolves around a public commotion caused by warring dogs. Eliot specifically mentions "Pollicle Dogs" to be

Yorkshire Terrier The Yorkshire Terrier (often shortened as Yorkie) is one of the smallest dog breeds of the terrier type and indeed of any dog breed. The breed developed during the 19th century in Yorkshire, England.first wife's dog Polly. The word "Pollicle Dog" is derived from a corruption of the phrase "poor little dog". Similarly, "Jellicle Cat" is a corruption of "dear little cat".

''Cats''

In ''

'', "The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles" is performed in the

time signature The time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, or measure signature) is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats (pulses) are contained in each measure (bar), and which note value ...

as part of a play within the musical. It is sung by Munkustrap and describes a

legend A legend is a Folklore genre, genre of folklore that consists of a narrative featuring human actions, believed or perceived, both by teller and listeners, to have taken place in human history. Narratives in this genre may demonstrate human valu ...

ary battle between two neighbouring dog tribes, the Pekes and the Pollicles, who bark "until you could hear them all over the park". Two more dog tribes, the Pugs and the Poms, eventually join in the barking as well. This goes on until the Great

Rumpus Cat The Great Rumpus Cat is a fictional character from T.S. Eliot's 1939 book ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' and in Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 musical, ''Cats''. The Great Rumpus Cat appears in the poem " Of the Awefull Battle of the Pekes a ...

arrives and scares the dogs away. As Munkustrap narrates, the other cats act out the tale by using items from the junkyard to dress up as the dogs. The play is interrupted at several moments by the antics of

Rum Tum Tugger Rum Tum Tugger is one of the many feline characters in the 1939 poetry book ''Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats'' by T. S. Eliot, and in the 1981 musical ''Cats'' which is based on Eliot's book. Rum Tum Tugger is a rebellious Jellicle cat who ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles Poetry by T. S. Eliot Cats (musical) 1981 songs Songs with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber