The Bat
The bat is dun with wrinkled wingsLike fallow article,And not a song pervades his lips,Or none perceptible.
His small umbrella, quaintly halved,Describing in the airAn arc alike inscrutable, --Elate philosopher!
Deputed from what firmamentOf what astute abode,Empowered with what malevolenceAuspiciously withheld.
To his adroit CreatorAscribe no less the praise;Beneficent, believe me,His eccentricities.
Words in this poem
- quaintly adv.
- In a quaint manner.
- halved a.
- Appearing as if one side, or one half, were cut away; dimidiate.
- elate a.
- Lifted up; raised; elevated. [L. elatus elevated, fig., elated, proud (the figure, perh., being borrowed from a prancing horse); e out + latus (used as p. p. of ferre to bear), for tlatus, a]
- firmament n.
- Fixed foundation; established basis. [L. firmamentum, fr. firmare to make firm: cf. F. firmament. See Firm, v. & a.]
- astute a.
- Critically discerning; sagacious; shrewd; subtle; crafty. [L. astutus, fr. astus craft, cunning; perh. cognate with E. acute.]
- abode n.
- Act of waiting; delay. [OE. abad, abood, fr. abiden to abide. See Abide. For the change of vowel, cf. abode, imp. of abide.]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Bat is in the public domain. This text is taken from Poems by Emily Dickinson, Three Series, Complete, Project Gutenberg ebook #12242; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Emily Dickinson, The Bat, in Poems (1890–1896), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #12242, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/dickinson-poems/the-bat.html, id L03796.
Form and metre
The Bat is 16 lines in 4 verse paragraphs. It is unrhymed, as far as the pronouncing dictionary can tell. The metre is common measure, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 87%). 89% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 6.8 syllables. 8 lines end on an unstressed syllable, a feminine ending. 31% of the lines run on without a stop at the line end.
See other poems in common measure.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 4 -A-A creator · praiseA · me · eccentricitiesA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against common measure. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| The bat is dun with wrinkled wings | 8 | ·····/˘· |
| Like fallow article, | 6 | ·/·/˘˘ |
| And not a song pervades his lips, | 8 | ····˘/·· |
| Or none perceptible. | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
| His small umbrella, quaintly halved, | 8 | ··˘/˘/˘· |
| Describing in the air | 6 | ˘/˘··· |
| An arc alike inscrutable, -- | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| Elate philosopher! | 6 | ˘/˘/˘˘ |
| Deputed from what firmament | 8 | ·····/˘˘ |
| Of what astute abode, | 6 | ··˘/˘/ |
| Empowered with what malevolence | 8 | ˘/··˘/˘˘ |
| Auspiciously withheld. | 6 | ····˘/ |
| To his adroit Creator | 7 | ··˘/˘/˘ |
| Ascribe no less the praise; | 6 | ˘/···· |
| Beneficent, believe me, | 7 | ·˘/˘˘/· |
| His eccentricities. | 6 | ··˘/˘˘ |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.