While The Bat Poet is a lively and imaginative children's story, Jarrell uses many of the conventions of poetry and criticism to make the tale a tool which a young person interested in poetry can use.

The use of symbolism is common in poetry. By making the characters mean something other than themselves, Jarrell gives added meaning to his narrative. In a similar way, much of the thematic unity of The Bat Poet would be lost if the central characters were not seen to signify something beyond themselves. Jarrell makes it easy for the reader to make the leap from the mockingbird to the critic. Like a good poet, he lays clues for the reader to pick up and then marvel at later.

Another literary device used by Jarrell in The Bat Poet is that of the "persona."

In many of his adult poems, Jarrell uses...