Poetry · Chapter
Bats in Sunshine explained
The narrator addresses Mr.
What happens
The narrator addresses Mr. Kemble, a divine, criticizing his intolerance of Renan's writings and suggesting that his thrift and piety mask a lack of true toleration. The poem asserts that truth's purpose is to expose and confound those who hide from it.
Themes in this chapter
Hypocrisy and Corruption
The narrator accuses Mr. Kemble of mistaking thrift for toleration, highlighting religious hypocrisy.
Deception and Self-Deception
Mr. Kemble's intolerance is masked as piety, reflecting self-deception about his own motives.
Characters to notice
- Unknown
The speaker who addresses Mr. Kemble and defends Renan's ideas.
Key passages
“You say that you’ve no patience with such stuff As by Rénan is writ, and when you read (Why do you read?) have hardly strength enough To hold your hand from flinging the vile screed Into the fire.”
You claim to have no tolerance for Renan's writings and almost throw them into the fire.
Highlights Mr. Kemble's reactionary attitude toward Renan's work.
“I fear, good, pious soul, that you mistake Your thrift for toleration.”
I suspect you confuse your frugality with genuine tolerance.
Accuses Mr. Kemble of conflating material thrift with spiritual open-mindedness.