How to Tell the Birds from the Flowers and Other Woodcuts · Chapter
The Pitcher Plant; The Fly‑catcher explained
This chapter humorously redefines the Pitcher Plant as a baseball pitcher and the Fly-catcher as a baseball catcher, playing on the double meanings of their names to create a whimsical analogy between botany and baseball.
What happens
This chapter humorously redefines the Pitcher Plant as a baseball pitcher and the Fly-catcher as a baseball catcher, playing on the double meanings of their names to create a whimsical analogy between botany and baseball.
Themes in this chapter
Wordplay and Homophones
The chapter relies on the double meanings of 'pitcher' (a container vs. a baseball player) and 'fly-catcher' (a plant vs. a baseball catcher) to create a humorous botanical-baseball crossover.
Humor and Absurdity
The absurd premise of treating a pitcher plant as a baseball pitcher and a fly-catcher as a catcher generates playful, nonsensical humor.
Characters to notice
- the Birds
Implied as participants in the baseball analogy, with the Pitcher Plant and Fly-catcher standing in for bird-like players.
Key passages
“The Pitcher Plant we may define, The flower of the base‑ball nine;”
We can describe the Pitcher Plant as the blossom of a baseball team.
Establishes the central pun: the pitcher plant as a baseball pitcher.
“The “Fly”-Catcher we educate To firmly stand behind the plate, To stop, and treat with circumspection, Whatever comes in his direction.”
We teach the Fly-catcher to stand solidly behind home plate, carefully handling anything that comes its way.
Extends the baseball metaphor to the fly-catcher as a catcher.