The Mock-Epic and Material Desire in Not All that Glisters Gold

“Not all that glisters gold,” Gray surmised in his poem, Ode on the Death of a Favorite Cat. While the term is widely understood now as meaning that not everything is precious, there is evidence to suggest that there is a more cautionary tone which surrounds this saying. As Gray uses it to lament the death of Horace Walpole’s favorite cat, when the text is analyzed further, aspects of the mock epic are revealed. However this usage of the mock epic is less humorous in tone and more as a vehicle to warn readers of the tragedy that befalls them when they mindlessly pursuit certain desires. Therefore, in Thomas Gray's Ode on the Death of a Favorite Cat, Gray uses the style of mock epic along with a non-human character in order to depict how people dangerously pursuit the material in their life, at the risk of their own demise.

In order to see how Gray’s Ode on the Death of a Favorite Cat uses mirrors the style of the mock epic, we must pinpoint features and conventions of epic literature. One common feature of the epic is that there is commonly a huge amount of focus on an object of desire. In the case of a mock epic, the object in question is given a disproportionate amount of importance. In Alexander Pope’s mock epic The Rape of the Lock, the main object of desire is Belinda’s lock of hair. As the lock is an object that the Sylphs surrounding her are tasked to guard, is it treated is something sacred, and becomes a symbol of Belinda’s chastity. In the case of Ode on the Death of a Favorite Cat, the goldfishes are treated as the object of desire. The fishes take on “angel forms” and don hues of purple and gold – regal colors that give the fishes a disparate sense of importance and entice the cat towards the fishbowl. This flattering...

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...ing predators. Now their descendants are demure, domesticated felines who live sedentary lives. Just as the face of the hero has changed for both man and feline over time, so have their desires. A desire for wonton material gain has formed. Thus, the peril of recklessly desiring the material is something Gray cautions the reader about. Fate, who used to guide hardened warriors into battle for righteousness, has become spiteful of having to be at the beck and call of those who pursue useless desires. This is why “Malignant Fate sat by and smiled” when Selima drowned. She has severed the ties to those who are not worthy of fate, and Gray warns the reader that if you do not prioritize your wants and needs as a human being, you too may face your death. Gray’s use of the mock epic then reflects upon the mockery of current human priorities compared to those of long ago.