The Full Text of “The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants”
1The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants—
2At Evening, it is not
3At Morning, in a Truffled Hut
4It stop opon a Spot
5As if it tarried always
6And yet it’s whole Career
7Is shorter than a Snake’s Delay—
8And fleeter than a Tare—
9’Tis Vegetation’s Juggler—
10The Germ of Alibi—
11Doth like a Bubble antedate
12And like a Bubble, hie—
13I feel as if the Grass was pleased
14To have it intermit—
15This surreptitious Scion
16Of Summer’s circumspect.
17Had Nature any supple Face
18Or could she one contemn—
19Had Nature an Apostate—
20That Mushroom—it is Him!
The Full Text of “The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants”
1The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants—
2At Evening, it is not
3At Morning, in a Truffled Hut
4It stop opon a Spot
5As if it tarried always
6And yet it’s whole Career
7Is shorter than a Snake’s Delay—
8And fleeter than a Tare—
9’Tis Vegetation’s Juggler—
10The Germ of Alibi—
11Doth like a Bubble antedate
12And like a Bubble, hie—
13I feel as if the Grass was pleased
14To have it intermit—
15This surreptitious Scion
16Of Summer’s circumspect.
17Had Nature any supple Face
18Or could she one contemn—
19Had Nature an Apostate—
20That Mushroom—it is Him!
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“The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants” Introduction
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"The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants," by the American poet Emily Dickinson, is a celebration of one of nature's most fascinating life forms as well as the tricksters, rebels, and nonconformists whom the mushroom represents. Calling the mushroom an "Elf," a "Juggler," and an "Apostate," the poem suggests that the mushroom is incredible for all the ways it seems to defy nature's ordinary (and, perhaps, boring) rules. Likewise, the poem admires those people who disrupt society's norms and expectations. Dickinson wrote the first draft of this poem in 1874, though, like the vast majority of her work, it wasn't published until after her death.
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“The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants” Summary
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Mushrooms are the elves of the plant world. Come nighttime they're nowhere to be found, but in the morning their round little houses pop up as if they'd been there for ages.
Even so, the mushroom's whole life is shorter than the time it takes for a snake to strike its prey. They grow even more quickly than a weed.
Mushrooms are the jugglers of the plant world. You can't pin down where they'll be at any given time. They bubble up from someplace else and quickly hurry away.
I feel like the grass appreciates having mushrooms pop up from time to time (alternatively, this line might mean the opposite: that the grass is happy when mushrooms finally stop popping up), stealthily growing right under Summer's cautious eye.
If Nature had a nimble face or the ability to treat someone with contempt—and if any part of Nature was going to break its rules—it would definitely be the mushroom!
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“The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants” Themes
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The Wonder of Nature
In “The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants,” the speaker marvels at one of nature’s most enchanting and perplexing creations: the mushroom. The speaker is taken by both its “fleet[ing]” nature and its impish unpredictability, both of which make it stand out from other “Plants.” (In fact, the mushroom technically isn’t a plant at all, though it’s only very recently that “fungi” have been classified in their own separate kingdom.) The poem serves as a fittingly playful meditation on nature’s furtive and short-lived “Juggler”: the mischievous sprite that briefly interrupts summer’s caution.
The speaker is mesmerized by the way mushrooms seem to appear out of nowhere and disappear just as swiftly. In calling the mushroom “the Elf of Plants,” the speaker implies that mushrooms are somehow magical and a bit capricious in nature. One minute they’re nowhere to be seen, and the next their little “Truffled Hut” appears “opon a Spot.”
The speaker also calls mushrooms “Vegetation’s Juggler,” suggesting that they’re like magicians performing for a rapt audience, and the “Germ” (the spark or seed that starts something) “of Alibi.” This nods to the way mushrooms don’t stay in one place for very long: as soon as you think you have their location pinned down, they pop up somewhere else entirely.
The speaker next compares mushrooms to “Bubble[s]” that seemingly float up out of nowhere and then disappear without a trace. Indeed, the speaker says the mushroom’s “whole Career / Is shorter than a Snake’s Delay.” In other words, the time it takes for a mushroom to appear and then disappear again is less than the time it takes for a snake to strike its prey. And this elusiveness is part of what makes them so captivating!
The speaker’s focus on the mushroom’s unpredictability suggests an appreciation for the way that mushrooms disrupt the ordinary progression of summer. When the speaker says that “the Grass” must be “pleased” whenever the mushrooms "intermit," they might mean that the grass is happy when the mushrooms randomly ("intermit[tently]") appear, perhaps because they spice things up. Alternatively, the speaker might be saying that the grass is happy when the mushrooms finally stop randomly showing up ("intermit" can mean also mean to cease).
Either way, it's clear that the mushrooms get in the way of “Summer’s” normally steady—and, in the speaker’s estimation, exceedingly cautious—growth. This is a delightful interruption, the speaker implies, that makes nature a little stranger and more marvelous.
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A Celebration of Tricksters, Rebels, and Nonconformists
“The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants” can be read as a symbolic celebration of tricksters, rebels, and nonconformists—those people who defy normal rules and conventions. By praising the unpredictable, disruptive nature of mushrooms, the poem suggests that there is something admirable about free-thinking and defiant people.
The mushroom’s ability to shapeshift, pop up where it’s not expected, and defy nature’s caution makes it the perfect symbol for the world’s rule-breakers. The speaker compares mushrooms to elves, creatures from mythology known for playing tricks and causing mischief. This suggests that the mushroom represents people who aren’t afraid to stir things up!
The speaker also calls the mushroom a “surreptitious” (or stealthy) “Scion / Of Summer’s circumspect.” In other words, mushrooms grow quickly and furtively right under “Summer’s” vigilant eye, suggesting that they’re not really supposed to be there. Summer seems to represent normal rules and conventions, which mushroom-like people disobey and/or disrupt.
The poem’s focus on the “Apostate”—or dissenter—of “Nature” can then be read as a celebration of those people who don’t conform to what’s popular or expected. Unlike “Nature,” the poem doesn’t "contemn" (or feel contempt towards) the mushroom for being an “Apostate”—that is, someone who disavows a religious or political doctrine. The poem instead seems to applaud the mushroom’s ability to spring up right beneath “Summer’s” stern and orderly eye, suggesting that such disobedience is admirable.
What's more, the poem itself is mushroom-like: short, whimsical, and irreverent. The poem flits between various metaphors much like mushrooms pop up in various locales, perhaps hinting at poetry’s mushroom-like ingenuity. Because readers never know what to expect with a poem, it has a way of slipping past people’s defenses—thus opening them up to new ideas! The poem’s humorous, whimsical language is also sly like mushrooms—it feels playful and innocuous on the surface, but it’s actually arguing for the importance of thinking freely and not just mindlessly following established rules and norms. In this way, the speaker perhaps suggests poetry’s penchant for sneakily undermining mainstream beliefs about the world.
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants”
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Lines 1-4
The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants—
At Evening, it is not
At Morning, in a Truffled Hut
It stop opon a SpotThe poem begins with a metaphor: the speaker says, "The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants." In other words, the mushroom is a unique and enchanting part of the plant world (though, technically, it's not a plant at all!).
An "Elf" is a mischievous little creature from folklore known for playing tricks and being elusive. The metaphor suggests that, like elves, mushrooms are small and capricious; they don't follow any predictable patterns, but rather pop up when and where they please.
Indeed, the speaker says that the mushroom is nowhere to be seen in the "Evening," but by "Morning," it appears "in a Truffled Hut." This is another metaphor playing on the way a mushroom looks: its cap forms a little "hut." The word "truffled" comes from a specific kind of mushroom, and this image also might make readers think of the mushroom as a kind of delightful little house in which an elf or fairy might live.
Anaphora in lines 2 and 3 ("At Evening"/"At Morning") highlights just how quickly the mushroom grows. Unlike many plants which take days or even weeks to rise from the ground, the mushroom seems to just appear overnight.
And notice the playful, bouncy sounds in line 4:
It stop opon a Spot
There's /s/ alliteration ("stop"/"Spot"), /aw/ assonance ("stop," "opon," "Spot"), and crisp /t/ and /p/ consonance. The line reads like a lighthearted tongue-twister, the poem's sounds helping to convey the mushroom's impish nature. The humorous sounds also create a fun, light-hearted tone—the speaker is enjoying musing on what makes the mushroom stand out from other plants!
This stanza also establishes the poem's form. Each stanza has four lines, making them quatrains. These quatrains also use something called common meter, a favorite of Dickinson's and also the meter often used for church hymns and ballads.
Common meter alternates between lines of iambic tetrameter and trimeter. An iamb is a poetic foot with two beats arranged in an unstressed-stressed pattern: da-DUM. Iambic tetrameter means there are four iambs per line, while trimeter means there are three. Here are lines 1-2:
The Mush- | room is | the Elf | of Plants—
At Eve- | ning, it | is notCommon measure also uses an ABCB rhyme scheme: every second and fourth line rhyme with each other ("not"/"Spot"). Using common measure lends the poem some familiar music.
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Lines 5-8
As if it tarried always
And yet it’s whole Career
Is shorter than a Snake’s Delay—
And fleeter than a Tare— -
Lines 9-12
’Tis Vegetation’s Juggler—
The Germ of Alibi—
Doth like a Bubble antedate
And like a Bubble, hie— -
Lines 13-16
I feel as if the Grass was pleased
To have it intermit—
This surreptitious Scion
Of Summer’s circumspect. -
Lines 17-20
Had Nature any supple Face
Or could she one contemn—
Had Nature an Apostate—
That Mushroom—it is Him!
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“The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants” Symbols
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The Mushroom
While on one level a simple celebration of literal mushrooms, it's also possible to read the poem as celebrating the kind of people who break away from society's rules and expectations. In this interpretation, the mushroom symbolizes the world's rebels and free-thinkers.
Like the sneaky, slippery mushroom, these people refuse to be pinned down to one predictable "Spot." They're nature's "Apostate"—free-thinkers who march to the beat of their own drums and refuse to bow to strict, predictable rules. Philosophically speaking, the poem might imply that such people aren't afraid to outgrow beliefs that no longer serve them, or that they simply refuse to do and be what others expect. And while cautious, straightlaced society might not be too "pleased" at these stealthily disruptive people, the speaker of the poem clearly approves of those who dare to deviate.
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Summer / Grass
If the "Mushroom" symbolizes the world's tricksters, rebels, and nonconformists, then cautious "Summer" and "Grass" symbolize the orderly rules and expectations that the mushroom so sneakily defies.
The speaker says they "feel as if the Grass was pleased / To have [the Mushroom] intermit." In other words, the Mushroom disrupts the Grass's slow, cautious growth, springing up seemingly overnight, and the Grass is happy when these little rule-breakers disappear.
It's also possible to read "intermit" as being short for "intermittently," thereby implying the opposite: that the Grass considers the mushrooms' sudden appearance a welcome distraction from the slow tedium of growth. In either reading, however, the Grass is part of a predictable, steady system.
The speaker also describes "Summer[]" as "circumspect," or wary and careful, implying that ordinary society sees those who defy convention as rash and irresponsible. Indeed, the speaker says that "Nature" would "contemn" (or look contemptuously upon) the Mushroom for its "Aposta[sy]," implying that "Summer" and its "Grass" symbolize the religious doctrine or other dogma from which mushroom-like people break free.
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“The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Metaphor
The poem uses multiple metaphors to describe what makes mushrooms so special. In the poem's opening line, the speaker says that "The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants." An "Elf" is a magical creature from folklore known for trickery and mischief, and the speaker is thus commenting on the enchanting, roguish nature of mushrooms. The speaker also says that the mushroom appears overnight "in a Truffled Hut." This is a rather whimsical metaphor for the mushroom's appearance, which is often compared to a little house for fairies.
The speaker later calls the mushroom "Vegetation's Juggler." This suggests that the mushroom is an entertaining performer while also conveying the way mushrooms are constantly popping up in new places, seemingly out of nowhere. This is why the mushroom is also "The Germ" (the originating seed or kernel) "of Alibi." An "Alibi" is a piece of evidence saying someone was somewhere else when a crime was committed, so this metaphor implies that the mushrooms are slippery enough that they can't be tied to a certain time or place!
In the final stanza, the speaker says:
Had Nature an Apostate—
That Mushroom—it is Him!Here, the speaker compares the mushroom to an "Apostate": a person who abandons their religion or other belief or cause. This metaphor suggests that the speaker's admiration of mushrooms isn't merely literal; the mushroom's rebellious nature represents people who think for themselves.
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Personification
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Alliteration
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Repetition
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"The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants" Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Truffled hut
- Opon
- Tarried
- A Snake's Delay
- Fleeter than a Tare
- 'Tis
- Juggler
- Germ
- Alibi
- Doth
- Antedate
- Hie
- Intermit
- Surreptitious
- Scion
- Circumspect
- Supple
- Contemn
- Apostate
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The speaker is saying that the mushroom looks like a little hut (or small house).
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants”
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Form
The poem consists of 20 lines broken into five quatrains (or four-line stanzas). These are more specifically ballad stanzas written in common measure: they alternate between lines of iambic tetrameter (four da-DUMs) and trimeter (three da-DUMs) and follow an ABCB rhyme scheme (meaning the second and fourth lines in each stanza rhyme).
This is the form Dickinson turns to most often in her poetry. It's used in many folk songs and church hymns, and here it lends the poem some simple, familiar music.
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Meter
Like so many of Dickinson's poems, "The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants" is written in common meter. This means the poem's rhythm is iambic (da-DUM), with lines alternating between tetrameter (four iambs per line) and trimeter (three iambs per line). Take a look at the first two lines:
The Mush- | room is | the Elf | of Plants—
At Eve- | ning, it | is notThis simple, bouncy rhythm adds to the poem's playful, lighthearted tone.
Common meter is used in many church hymns, which makes it an interesting choice for a poem celebrating an "Apostate": someone who turns their back on their religion. The poem slips its celebration of nonconformity into a familiar pattern, subtly evoking the mushroom's own sneakiness.
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Rhyme Scheme
"The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants" follows an ABCB rhyme scheme: the second and fourth lines of each stanza rhyme.
The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants—
At Evening, it is not
At Morning, in a Truffled Hut
It stop upon a SpotAs with most Dickinson poems, however, most of the rhymes are slant: "Career"/"Tare," "intermit"/"circumspect," "contemn"/"Him." Some of the A and C words also subtly echo each other, as with "Face" and "Apostate" in the final stanza. This complicates the poem's otherwise familiar, predictable rhyme pattern, in a way evoking the rebelliousness of "Nature['s] Apostate."
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“The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants” Speaker
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The speaker of this poem, like so many of Dickinson's poems, is completely anonymous: the reader doesn't learn any specific details about this person. Instead, the poem focuses entirely on the bewitching "Mushroom." Perhaps the speaker admires the mushroom so because they, too, feel like an outcast. Or, maybe, the speaker admires the mushroom because they wish they could be more like it: more rebellious, free-spirited, etc.
Note that the speaker's interest in and admiration for "Nature['s] Apostate"—someone who abandons their religion or political party or other cause—reflects Dickinson's own disdain for the societal rules and expectations of her time. While Dickinson was in many ways deeply spiritual, she had serious misgivings about the strict religious doctrine she grew up with. She was, of course, also a woman writing in the 1800s, a time when women's intellectual and creative pursuits weren't exactly encouraged, to say the least. While the poem doesn't have to be read with Dickinson's own apostasy in mind, it certainly leads to a deeper understanding of the speaker's fascination with these rebellious little organisms.
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“The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants” Setting
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The poem is set outside during the "Summer[]," a season during which many varieties of "Mushroom[s]" grow. The speaker describes the absence of mushrooms in the "Evening" and the sudden appearance of their "Truffled Hut[s]" in the "Morning," suggesting how quickly they come and go. The speaker compares the mushroom's stealthy arrival and departure to the speed with which "a Snake[]" strikes its prey, or the frenzied way "Tare" or weed spreads.
The poem's setting can also be read symbolically, with "Summer's Circumspect" (or cautious) standing in for society's rules, norms, and expectations, and the mushrooms representing those people who choose to defy them.
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Literary and Historical Context of “The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants”
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Literary Context
Emily Dickinson was an important part of the American Romantic movement, alongside writers like Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walt Whitman. She was also a one-of-a-kind writer with a distinct sensibility that set her apart from her contemporaries. Some people even see her as the grandmother of modernism, the 20th-century literary movement of experimental, introspective writers like T.S. Eliot.
Though she is now famous for her use of slant rhymes, idiosyncratic punctuation, and unconventional capitalization, these techniques were quite innovative for her time. Her poems are also filled with strikingly unique imagery and figurative language, as well as deeply personal considerations of nature, faith, and death.
Dickinson wrote "The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants" around 1874 on the back of an envelope. Like most of her poetry, it was only discovered after her death when her sister discovered a trunk of nearly 1,800 poems squirreled away in a bedroom. Published at last, Dickinson's poetry became internationally famous and beloved. Dickinson's work and her life story still influence all kinds of artists.
Historical Context
Emily Dickinson lived in Amherst, Massachusetts all her life. She grew up in a strict Protestant environment that placed great emphasis on religious rules and social codes. Dickinson was also swept up for a time by the religious revival known as the Second Great Awakening, and her religious upbringing shows itself in the hymn-like rhythms of her poetry. Many of her poems also express wonder about the afterlife, often speculating—sometimes exuberantly—on what it's like to meet God and Jesus, if that is in fact what happens when people die (something Dickinson wasn't sure about).
Dickinson ultimately rejected organized religion and often questions the existence of God in her work—an activity that would have been scandalously at odds with her community. As such, it comes as no surprise that the speaker of "The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants" admires nature's rebellious, unconventional "Apostate." By all accounts, Dickinson's life was extremely unusual for the 1800s. Most women were expected to marry and have children, but Dickinson never did. In fact, towards the end of her life, she barely spoke to anyone but a small circle of close friends and family and spent much of her later years shut up in her room.
Dickinson's poetry also syncs up with her era's idealistic movements aimed at preserving the natural world. This idea of protecting natural wonders was a novel one in the aftermath of the Industrial Revolution, a time when nature was often seen as a source of wealth rather than beautiful in its own right.
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More “The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants” Resources
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External Resources
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The Elf of Plants: Mushrooms in Poetry — A Goodreads review exploring the significance of fungi in "The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants" and "Mushrooms" by American poet Sylvia Plath.
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Learn More About Emily Dickinson — A Poetry Foundation biography of the poet.
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Listen to the Poem Out Loud — A reading of (a slightly different version of) the poem.
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Handwritten Drafts of the Poem — Peruse the Emily Dickinson Archives where you can see drafts of "The Mushroom is the Elf of Plants" in Dickinson's own handwriting.
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Studies in Scale: Emily Dickinson's Envelope Poems — A fascinating Poetry Foundation article discussing Dickinson's use of the backs of old letters for writing poems—including this one!
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Introduction to Mycology (The Study of Fungi) — A brief look at what scientists know about mushrooms today.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by Emily Dickinson
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