Bat by David Herbert Lawrence
The Poem
At evening, sitting on this terrace,
When the sun from the west, beyond Pisa, beyond the
Mountains of Carrara
Departs, and the world is taken by surprise…
When the tired flower of Florence is in gloom beneath the glowing
Brown hills surrounding…
When under the arches of the Ponte Vecchio
A green light enters against stream, flush from the west,
Against the current of obscure Arno…
Look up, and you see things flying
Between the day and the night;
Swallows with spools of dark thread sewing the shadows together.
A circle swoop and a quick parabola under the bridge arches
Where light pushes through;
A sudden turning upon itself of a thing in the air.
A dip to the water.
And you think:
“The swallows are flying so late!”
Swallows?
Dark air-life looping
Yet missing the pure loop…
A twitch, a Twitter, an elastic shudder in flight
And serrated wings against the sky,
Like a glove, a black glove thrown up at the light,
Never swallows!
Bats!
The swallows are gone.
At a wavering instant the swallows give way to bats
By the Ponte Vecchio…
Changing guard.
Bats, and an uneasy creeping in one’s scalp
As the bats sweep overhead!
Flying madly.
Pipistrello!
Black piper on an infinitesimal pipe.
Little lumps that fly in air and have voices indefinite, wildly vindictive;
Wings like bits of umbrella.
Bats!
Creatures that hang themselves up like an old rag, to sleep;
And disgustingly upside down.
Hanging upside down like rows of disgusting old rags
And grinning in their sleep.
Bats!
In China the bat is symbol of happiness.
Not for me!
Analysis
The Poetic Meaning of the Difficult Words and Expressions in the Poem
Malevolence- Hostile attitude
Gloom- Darkness, dimness, obscurity
Spools- A device around which thread, wire or cable is wound
The Ponte Vecchio- This is a medieval stone, closed Sprandrel Segmental arch bridge over the Arno River in Florence, Italy.
Swallows- A small migratory bird that feeds on the wings by catching insects.
Swoop- To fly downward suddenly.
Parabola- The explicit drawing of a parallel between two dissimilar things, especially with a moral or didactic purpose.
Looping- To mix together
Twitch- A brief small movement out of place and then back again.
Twitter- The sounds utter by birds.
Shudder- A moment of fear
Serrated- Having a row of sharp or tooth-like projections. (Saw-like)
Pipistrello- A specie of bat
Piper- Pipe player
Infinitesimal- Minute, small
Vindictive- Having tendency to seek revenge when wronged
(Revengeful)
Grinning- A smile in which the lips are parted to reveal the teeth.
Terrace- A platform that extends from a building
Content
Bats are mammals capable of flying. They can more easily maneuver than birds while flying. They feed mostly on insects and fruits.
They are nocturnal animals hence; they are fearful, malevolent and associated with witchcraft and death.
They portend bad omen for the people that are in contact with them in certain circumstances.
The poem opens with the description of the environment in which bats can be found. The poet expresses his personal experience with bats, chronicling the type of animal bat is.
The poet sits on a terrace in the evening when the sun is seen no more and the flower is hardly seen.
“At evening, sitting on this terrace,
When the sun from the west, beyond Pisa, beyond the
Mountains of Carrara
Departs, and the world is taken by surprise…
When the tired flower of Florence is in gloom beneath the glowing
Brown hills surrounding…”
He continues by describing what happens under the arches of Ponte Vecchio to tell us that there is darkness already during the period.
Ponte Vecchio is a medieval stone closed spandrel segmental arch bridge over the Arno River, in Florence, Italy.
“When under the arches of the Ponte Vecchio
A green light enters against stream, flush from the west,
Against the current of obscure Arno…”
Bat flies during the tail end of the day light and the night with the swallows; a small migratory bird that feeds on insects.
“Look up, and you see things flying
Between the day and the night;
Swallows with spools of dark thread sewing the shadows together”
The next verses describe how swift bat flies; it can easily maneuver while flying.
“A circle swoop and a quick parabola under the bridge arches
Where light pushes through;
A sudden turning upon itself of a thing in the air.
A dip to the water.”
Eventually one may be confused that it is swallows that are still flying, but they are bats.
“And you think:
“The swallows are flying so late!”
The qualities of the swallows are identified in the following verse but are missing in bats. These make the poet know that the swallows are gone, that bats are flying.
“Dark air-life looping
Yet missing the pure loop…
A twitch, a twitter, an elastic shudder in flight
And serrated wings against the sky,
Like a glove, a black glove thrown up at the light,
And falling back.
Never swallows!
Bats!
The swallows are gone.”
The bats are fully in charge now, the swallows are gone. This is expressed in these lines.
“At a wavering instant the swallows give way to bats
By the Ponte Vecchio…
Changing guard.”
Bats have been identified to be frightening while flying; they can easily hit one’s head in their dangerous flight.
“Bats, and an uneasy creeping in one’s scalp
As the bats sweep overhead!
Flying madly.”
The poet also describes the sound produced by bats, making use of a species of the bat he encounters, “Pipisterillo” as an example. The bats make indistinct noise and are revengeful in case they are attacked.
“Pipistrello!
Black piper on an infinitesimal pipe.
Little lumps that fly in air and have voices indefinite, wildly vindictive;”
The wings of the bat are metaphorically compared with an umbrella and the sleeping position of the bat is also described. It sleeps upside down and appears where it sleeps like a rag that is hanged.
They also expose their teeth, making noise while sleeping.
“Creatures that hang themselves up like an old rag, to sleep;
And disgustingly upside down.
Hanging upside down like rows of disgusting old rags
And grinning in their sleep.”
Despite the fearful and malevolent nature of the bat, it is a symbol of happiness in China, but the poet is against this.
“In China the bat is symbol of happiness.
Not for me!”
Themes
Evil is Attached to Darkness: The description of bat presents it as a nocturnal animal. This may be responsible for its wickedness and its association with witchcraft, death and other devilish things.
Diligence: This is expressed while describing how smart the bat is while flying. It can easily maneuver itself while flying.
Wickedness: Bat is presented as a wicked animal that easily hits somebody’s head and is also revengeful.
Illusion: The poet in this poem presents this life as an illusion. While other creatures sleep normally, bat sleeps upside down.
Also, in China, bats are seen as a symbol of happiness, despite the devilish qualities of the animal.
Poetic Devices
Alliteration: This is the repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of two or more words in an expression. We have this in lines 2, 4, 7, 11, 21, 22, 23, 40, 41.
Simile: This is the comparison of two things with the use of as or like. This is in lines,
23 – “Like a glove, a black glove thrown up at the light,”
37- “Wings like bits of umbrella.”
41- “Hanging upside down like rows of disgusting old rags.”
The use of Pronominal: The uses of words like “you, one’s and me make the poems real. The discourse appears as if real.
Personification: This is when the qualities of the in animate is given to the animate. In lines;
3&4- “When the sun from the west, beyond Pisa, beyond the
Mountains of Carrara
Departs, and the world is taken by surprise…”
30- “Changing guards” The swallow and the bat are said to be changing guards like human beings.
43- “Black piper on an infinitesimal pipe.”
Repetition: There is repetition of words like “when, bat and swallow” severally to lay emphasis and call the attention of the reader.
Enjambment or run-on-line: This occurs when the sense expressed in a line of verse is not complete in that line of verse and has to be completed in the next lines.
There is always no definite pause at the end of such lines. This is extensively used in this poem by the poet.
Metaphor: This is the comparison of two things without the use of as or like. This is in line;
36- “Little lumps that fly in air and have voices indefinite, wildly vindictive;”
Structure: The arrangement of the lines of the poem is irregular to reveal the weird and haggard structure of the bat.
We cannot say specifically that this is the structure of a bat as it has an irregular shape.