All But Blind

All But Blind

By Walter De La Mare

All but blind
In his chambered hole,
Gropes for worms
The four-clawed mole.

All but blind
In the evening sky,
The hooded Bat
Twirls softly by.

All but blind
In the burning day,
The barn owl
Blunders on her way.

And blind as are
These three to me,
So blind to someone
I must be.

Summary of All But Blind

  • Popularity of “All But Blind”: ‘All But Blind’ is a philosophical literary piece, written by Walter De La Mare. In this short poem, the speaker describes three animals considered blind by humans but each creature is living a perfect life. It also explains animals and humans perceive the seeing ability differently. The poem gained immense popularity due to its theme of human inability to understand the natural world.
  • “All But Blind” As a Representative of Natural World: The poem reflects the speaker’s simplistic yet philosophical thoughts about human ignorance, focusing on three animals. The first stanza talks about the four clawed moles that despite blindness, catch their prey. In the next stanza, he personifies another animal, the bat. The bat cannot see during day time, therefore, he appears in the evening and spreads his wings to enjoy freedom. Another nocturnal animal mentioned in the next stanza is the barn owl. The poet says that he struggles in the burning day and makes blunders as well. The final stanza holds the significant message of the text that is appearance versus reality. The poet compares humans with these three creatures. To him, as these three seem blind, he must also face the opinion of somebody else about his blindness. It is all about how we perceive things.
  • Major Themes in “All But Blind”: Appearance versus reality, blindness, and natural beauty are the major themes of the poem. The poem centers on a single phenomenon; blindness, in other words, ignorance. To make his point clear to the readers, the speaker mentions three animals in the text. Although they seem blind to humans’ sight, yet they enjoy their life following the pattern set by nature. However, the representation of these creatures is highly symbolic. The speaker addresses three types of people in this philosophical text. The mole represents those who are spiritually and intellectually blind. They only live to attain basic needs. The bat represents those who avoid direct contact with the world; they appear when the world is at rest. Lastly, the owl stands for those who hesitate to accept the realities and truths of the world.

Analysis of Literary Devices Used in “All But Blind”

literary devices are tools that writers use to convey their emotions, feelings, and ideas to the readers. They can also make the poems lifelike and connects the readers with the real message of the text. Walter De La Mare has also used some literary devices in this poem. The analysis of some of the literary devices used in this poem is given below.

  1. Assonance: Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in the same line such as the sound of /ee/ in “These three to me” and the sound of /o/ in “The four-clawed mole”.
  2. Alliteration: Alliteration is the repetition of consonant sounds in the same line in quick succession. For example, the sound of /b/ in “All but blind”.
  3. Allegory: It is a figure of speech in which abstract ideas and principles are described in terms of characters, figures, and events. The speaker has used allegoric expressions at the beginning of the poem when he considers everything blind. For example, “All but blind.”
  4. Enjambment: It is defined as a thought in verse that does not come to an end at a line break; rather, it rolls over to the next line. For example,

All but blind
In his chambered hole,
Gropes for worms
The four-clawed mole.”

  1. Irony: Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used in such a way that their intended meaning is different from the actual meaning. The title of the poem is ironic because it hints about physical blindness but it talks about the inward blindness of human beings, in other words human ignorance.
  2. Imagery: Imagery is used to make readers perceive things involving their five senses. For example, “In his chambered hole”, “In the evening sky” and “The four-clawed mole.”
  3. Metaphor: It is a figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between the objects that are different. The poet has used blindness as a metaphor for the human inability to understand the natural world.
  4. Symbolism: Symbolism means using symbols to signify ideas and qualities, giving them symbolic meanings different from the literal meanings. “Chambered hole” symbolizes the limited approach of someone.

Analysis of Poetic Devices Used in “All But Blind”

Poetic and literary devices are the same, but a few are used only in poetry. Here is the analysis of some of the poetic devices used in this poem.

  1. Free Verse: Free verse is a type of poetry that does not contain patterns of rhyme or meter. This is a free-verse poem with no strict pattern of rhyme or meter.
  2. Quatrain: A quatrain is a four-lined stanza borrowed from Persian poetry. Here each stanza is a quatrain.
  3. Repetition: There is a repetition of the verse “All but blind,” which has created a musical quality in the poem.
  4. Refrain: The lines repeated at some distance in the poem are called ‘refrain’. The verse “All but blind” is the refrain in this poem.
  5. Stanza: A stanza is a poetic form of some lines. There are four stanzas in this poem with each comprising four lines.

Quotes to be Used

The lines stated below are appropriate to talk about the limited understanding or knowledge of mankind that we are unable to understand everything around us.

And blind as are
These three to me,
So blind to someone
I must be.”