Symbolism In The Bat By Theodore Roethke

When reading poetry, many poems possess a single hidden meaning that is meant to be accepted as the lone interpretation of the the piece. Yes, there may be some fluctuation from reader to reader, but there are only so many ways a poem with one central meaning can be interpreted. However, in the poem “The Bat” by Theodore Roethke the possibilities for interpretation are endless. In the very last line of the poem Roethke successfully makes his seemingly literal poem into a symbolic metaphor that can be applied to any life dream or goal, depending on the reader. He effectively does this by using elements of both symbolism and imagery to enhance the reader 's perception of doubt, fear, and loneliness. By analyzing the components of symbolism and

In “The Bat” the symbolic object is as one could guess from the title, a bat(animal). Throughout the poem Roethke gives the reader a basis for a bats life and this is taken as literal all the way up to the very last line of the poem. The concluding line of the poem reads “When mice with wings can wear a human face” (10). The significance of this line is that it gives the “bat” the ability to be referenced to as a human. With that being said the poem is now able to be interpreted according to the beliefs, values, and ideas of whoever is reading. The reader is able to affiliate the “bat” and its struggles with that of the themselves or whoever they may chose it to represent. This is where the poem separates itself from the rest. Due to the fact the bats struggles include doubt, fear, and loneliness, all are very applicable concepts to life. The reader is able to pick the dream, goal, or life experience that they see these concepts relate to. As one may well know every person on earth finds loneliness, fear, and doubt through some life experience and each experience will differ from person to person. Therefore the symbolism the bat proposes is truly crucial to the poems

Imagery is important to the poem because if Roethke did not use it the reader would lose an emotional connection to the poem. It is one thing to read a poem, but another to visualize it vividly. “The Bat” emphasizes its use of imagery to aid the reader in seeing the concepts of loneliness, fear, and doubt portrayed. Roethke allows the reader to picture the loneliness of the “bat” when he references him living in “the attic of an aging house” (2) or “His fingers make a hat about his head” (3). From this the reader can visualize the “bat” alone in the attic of a house covering him/her face with his hands. The “bat” is in solitude and all alone and the readers can see what that actually can look like. Roethke references the fear that the speaker sees in the “bat” when he claims “he brushes up against a screen, We are afraid of what our eyes have seen” (8). One can assume that everyone has seen or has an accurate visual of fear. With these words the author triggers this image of fear in the reader. Along with the components of loneliness and fear the author also creates images of doubt. Roethke states “He loops in crazy figures half the night” (5). One may be asking themselves how this pertains to doubt. When someone doubts another they in many cases they consider them silly, foolish, or in some cases stupid. So when thinking of someone repetitively running around in circles it is hard not