Nº 009 · Read
Nine lives, already in Shakespeare
Folger Shakespeare Library · 2026-09-30T21:51:33.166Z
Cats’ nine lives turn up in an unexpected place: Romeo and Juliet. In Act 3, Scene 1, Mercutio taunts Tybalt as the king of cats and threatens one of his nine lives. A familiar saying, caught inside a dangerous joke. This passage records the belief; it does not establish where it began.
Read it at Folger Shakespeare Library ↗
- Why this number?
- The proverbial nine lives of a cat.
- Credit
- William Shakespeare; edition presented by the Folger Shakespeare Library
- Reuse and attribution
- Original NicheMisc introduction and source link. The linked work stays on its original website; its text, images, video and audio are not reproduced here.
- Published
- 2026-09-30T21:51:33.166Z