In my paper, Thomas Nagel’s essay "What is it like to be a bat?" will be discussed in connection with Emily Dickinson’s poem "The bat is dun, with wrinkled wings" and D. H. Lawrence’s poem "Man and Bat". Furthermore, I want to prove in how far Nagel’s basic ideas can be found in these two different poems.
Thomas Nagel’s basic idea is that there are some experiences that cannot be fully explained, that human experience can only be subjective and that scientists, though they try to analyse things, cannot explain everything. In his essay "What is it like to be a bat?" he gives the example of persons who are blind from birth. Therefore, they will never experience, e.g. the colours of flowers because they have never seen them. As well as we do not know the experiences of a blind person, we will never be able to understand a bat, even if we know how their sonar system works.
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Thomas Nagel's "What is it like to be a bat?"
- Emily Dickinson's "The bat is dun, with wrinkled wings"
- Poetic Analysis
- Themes and Interpretations
- D. H. Lawrence's "Man and Bat"
- Poetic Analysis
- Themes and Interpretations
- Comparison and Conclusion
Objectives and Key Themes
This paper aims to analyze Emily Dickinson's poem "The bat is dun, with wrinkled wings" and D. H. Lawrence's poem "Man and Bat" in light of Thomas Nagel's philosophical essay "What is it like to be a bat?". The analysis will explore how Nagel's ideas regarding the limitations of human understanding of subjective experiences are reflected in the poetic representations of bats.
- The limitations of human understanding of subjective, non-human experiences.
- Contrasting poetic representations of bats: objective description vs. subjective encounter.
- Exploration of the inherent mystery and otherness of animal life.
- The role of poetic language and form in conveying subjective experience.
- Human attitudes towards animals: revulsion, fascination, and responsibility.
Chapter Summaries
Introduction: This introductory section lays out the paper's central objective: to examine how Nagel's philosophical ideas on subjective experience, particularly as illustrated through his "bat" example, manifest in the poetic works of Dickinson and Lawrence. It establishes the connection between Nagel's essay and the two poems, setting the stage for a comparative analysis of how these texts grapple with the unknowability of other minds, particularly in the context of animal consciousness.
Thomas Nagel's "What is it like to be a bat?": This section summarizes Nagel's key argument: that subjective experience (what it's *like* to be a bat) is inaccessible to human understanding, regardless of our scientific knowledge. Nagel uses the example of a bat's sonar system to illustrate the fundamental difference between objective understanding (how the system works) and subjective experience (what it feels like to use it). This establishes the framework for understanding the limitations of human perspectives when attempting to comprehend the experiences of other creatures. The use of the example of a person blind from birth reinforces this notion of an inaccessible subjective experience. This section underscores the core concept of the inherent limitations of human understanding in comprehending non-human experiences.
Emily Dickinson's "The bat is dun, with wrinkled wings": This section provides a detailed summary of Dickinson's poem, focusing on its poetic techniques and themes. The analysis explores the poem's descriptive language, highlighting the use of alliteration, similes, and unconventional punctuation. The section also examines the poem's shifts in tone, from a somewhat detached observation of the bat's physical characteristics to a more mystical appreciation of its enigmatic nature and ultimately, an affirmation of the bat's place within God's creation. The discussion will include the poem's lack of a clear metrical pattern and the significance of Dickinson's characteristic use of dashes. The summary synthesizes the themes of the poem into a cohesive whole, exploring how Dickinson presents a creature that is simultaneously mundane and mysterious.
D. H. Lawrence's "Man and Bat": This section summarizes Lawrence's poem, focusing on its narrative structure and the psychological portrayal of the narrator's interaction with the bat. The summary analyzes the narrator's initial revulsion and subsequent shift in perspective, tracing his emotional journey from disgust and hostility towards a grudging acceptance, possibly even a recognition of the bat's unique resilience and survival instincts. The discussion will cover the poem's use of free verse, the fluctuating lengths of its lines, and the effect of this on the overall feel and pacing. Key aspects, such as the struggle between man and nature, will also be examined. The use of dashes and exclamation marks is explored as a way of creating immediacy and reflecting the narrator's intense emotions.
Keywords
Subjective experience, consciousness, animal cognition, bat, Emily Dickinson, D. H. Lawrence, Thomas Nagel, poetic language, human-animal interaction, otherness, mystery, limitation of human understanding.
Frequently Asked Questions: A Comparative Analysis of Bat Representations in Literature and Philosophy
What is the main topic of this academic paper?
This paper analyzes how the philosophical concept of subjective experience, as explored by Thomas Nagel in "What is it like to be a bat?", is reflected in the poetic representations of bats by Emily Dickinson ("The bat is dun, with wrinkled wings") and D. H. Lawrence ("Man and Bat"). It compares the poems, examining their poetic techniques and thematic concerns related to human understanding of non-human consciousness.
Which philosophical essay is central to the analysis?
Thomas Nagel's "What is it like to be a bat?" serves as the foundational philosophical text. Nagel's argument about the limitations of human understanding of subjective, non-human experiences forms the lens through which the poems are interpreted.
What poems are analyzed in this paper?
The paper analyzes two poems: Emily Dickinson's "The bat is dun, with wrinkled wings" and D. H. Lawrence's "Man and Bat".
What are the key themes explored in the paper?
Key themes include the limitations of human understanding of subjective, non-human experiences; contrasting poetic representations of bats (objective description vs. subjective encounter); the inherent mystery and otherness of animal life; the role of poetic language and form in conveying subjective experience; and human attitudes towards animals (revulsion, fascination, and responsibility).
How does the paper compare and contrast the two poems?
The paper compares the poetic techniques (e.g., use of imagery, symbolism, form) and thematic concerns of Dickinson's and Lawrence's poems, examining how each poet represents the bat and explores the concept of subjective experience. It highlights differences in their approaches, such as Dickinson's more detached observation versus Lawrence's focus on the narrator's emotional journey.
What are the main arguments presented regarding Dickinson's poem?
The analysis of Dickinson's poem focuses on its descriptive language, unconventional punctuation, shifts in tone, and the way it presents the bat as simultaneously mundane and mysterious. The poem's lack of a clear metrical pattern and use of dashes are also discussed.
What are the main arguments presented regarding Lawrence's poem?
The analysis of Lawrence's poem emphasizes its narrative structure, the narrator's psychological portrayal, and the shift in his perspective towards the bat. The discussion includes the poem's use of free verse, fluctuating line lengths, and the effect of punctuation on the poem's emotional impact. The theme of the struggle between man and nature is also explored.
What is the overall conclusion of the paper?
The paper concludes by synthesizing the findings from the analysis of Nagel's essay and the two poems. It offers a comparative perspective on how these works address the challenge of understanding subjective experiences beyond the human realm.
What are the keywords associated with this paper?
Subjective experience, consciousness, animal cognition, bat, Emily Dickinson, D. H. Lawrence, Thomas Nagel, poetic language, human-animal interaction, otherness, mystery, limitation of human understanding.
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- Quote paper
- Judith Leitermann (Author), 2013, Animal Poetry. "The Bat is dun, with wrinkled Wings" and "Man and Bat" in connection with Thomas Nagel’s essay "What is it like to be a bat?", Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/337915
