Category: Elizabeth Bishop

Elizabeth Bishop’s poetry essentially revolves around the combination of precise language, vivid imagery and the intertwining of the poems with her life. These features of her writing make it appealing to the reader and aids us in deeply understanding her troubled but interesting childhood. Through Bishop’s use of skillful language and vivid imagery , in my opinion, she is able to create an atmosphere which helps to confront the harsh realities of life. The poems I believe best illustrate this are ‘First Death of Nova Scotia’ ,‘Sestina’, ‘Filling Station’, ‘The Prodigal’ and ‘The Fish’.

The language in Bishop’s poetry is simple and often childlike, most prominent in ‘First Death in Nova Scotia’. This poem focuses on the exploration of one of life’s harsh realities. This poem is written from a little girl’s perspective, so the language is befitting. It deals with the girl confronting the death of her cousin, Arthur. The poem begins with Arthur’s body laid out. The room is described as a ‘cold, cold parlour’ and immediately the repetition of cold creates a ‘frozen, lifeless’ atmosphere. The child goes on to mention the ‘stuffed loon shot and stuffed by Arthur’s Father’. The corpse of Arthur and the dead loon add to the lifeless atmosphere. In the next stanza, Bishop looks at the loon more closely. She interestingly personifies it by saying the loon ‘hadn’t said a word’ since it had been killed. I believe that this is a subtle link to how Arthur hadn’t spoken since he had died too. The fact that she doesn’t get why a dead bird isn’t speaking suggests that she doesn’t fully understand the significance of death. The colours of red and white are repeated throughout this poem. The white ‘tiny lily’, ‘the frosted little cake and ‘deep snow’ are possibly symbols of purity and innocence. The red ‘Canadian Maple leaf’ and red clothing of the ‘ gracious royals’ are the only sources of warmth in this cold parlour. Bishop uses an effective simile in the line ‘He was all white like a doll that hadn’t been painted yet.’. This line was very moving when I first read and it truly highlights the tragedy of the death of Arthur. It hurt to think that Bishop may have gone through this as a child. At the end of this moving poem, the child tries to understand what is actually happening by imagining a fairy tale ending. I found it interesting how Bishop used a ‘royal couple’ and Arthur going to court rather than going for the simple and more common idea of heaven. The child begins to start using words like ‘forever,frozen and cold’. This suggests that she’s finally understamding the finality of death. The poem ends with a question, ‘but how could Arthur go… and the roads deep in snow?’. This moment truly captures the uncertainty of the child that is evident throughout the poem and in a way, it captures the uncertainty of death. Bishop was able to effectively use precise language and vivid imagery and that allowed her to reach a moment of insight involving one of the harsh realities of life: Death

Another poem which left an impression on me in how it skilfully explored a harsh reality of life through vivid language and precise descriptions is the poem ‘Sestina’.This poem, much like ‘First Death of Nova Scotia’ is written through a little girl’s perspective. ‘Sestina’ deals with a little girl coming to terms with life without her parents . The poem begins with the line ‘September rain falls on the house’. This use of pathetic fallacy immediately sets a sad, sorrowful and grieving atmosphere as the bad weather already reflects the mood in the house.We are introduced to the grandmother reading jokes from an almanac to her granddaughter. However, grief cancels this apparent sense of happiness by the ‘failing light‘. This is then made obvious by the description of the grandmother ‘laughing and talking to hide her tears.’ Bishop’s precise, detailed descriptions represent my favourite feature in this poem. She uses each description differently to signify sadness. Similarly to ‘First Death of Nova Scotia’, the child tries to comprehend her feelings through the inanimate objects around her. We are introduced to such descriptions when ‘the child is watching the teakettle’s small hard tears’. We see symbolism used simultaneously with personification when ‘the iron kettle sings on the stove’. In the midst of the grieving atmosphere in the house the stove symbolises warmth and brings comfort. This brings ‘happiness into the kettle’ above it and it sings to illustrate that happiness. Tears are the most prominent image conveyed in this poem and are used both literally and figuratively in this poem and this is an example of its figurative use. Bishop is describing what the condensation on the kettle looks like through the child’s eyes. This might be Bishop’s way of letting us know that though the child isn’t exactly aware of the grandmother’s crying, as she is hiding the tears, she still senses the sadness, even if only in the back of her mind. Other descriptions are when ‘the little moons fall down like tears’, when ‘her teacup is full of dark brown tears’ and the man’s coat with ‘button like tears’. The repetition of tears through metaphors and similes merged with Bishop’s precise language is incredibly powerful and allowed me as the reader to be confronted with a harsh reality of life through the perspective of a child: life without parents.

‘The Fish’ is another poem that vastly showcases Bishop’s use of imagery and skillful language to confront life’s harsh realities. In this poem, Bishop describes the experience of catching a fish.The poem starts with the poet expressing her excitement and pride at catching a ‘tremendous fish’. The tone is already filled with joy. This changes in the next line as Bishop is disappointed that the fish did not make an attempt to fight back at all. .

In this essay I will identify some of the creative features evident in Bishops poem such as; foregrounding, deviation, parallelism and defamiliarisation, whilst considering the different ways these creative effects are achieved. I will also discuss the different lenses used to view creativity, and how these creative techniques can be viewed through the critical, textual and conceptual lenses.; whilst also considering the importance of genre when identifying creative features.

In order to provide context to the creative features within the poem it is important to understand how linguistic creativity is defined. Demjen explains that ‘‘linguistic creativity’ is also…referred to as poetic/literary…or verbal art (p21, 2017). Bishops poem falls into this definition and it is important that we view its creative features within the context of poetic creativity. Demjen further explains that ‘something is creative if it is novel, of high quality and appropriate [which could be] an uncommon metaphor used successfully to communicate a complex concept or idea’ (p21, 2017) and this definition informs the study of linguistic creativity in this poem.

The textual lens, which involves considering language itself within a literary concept (p23, 2017) is important when identifying creativity in this poem. Demjen states that, ‘in trying to distinguish between ‘poetic’ and ordinary language, scholars…posited that the purpose of art (including literature) was to defamilarise common objects and concepts’ (p24, 2017). This idea of defamiliarisation is prevalent in Bishops poem and I will now identify examples of how this is achieved.

Bishop uses a technique called foregrounding in order to defamiliarise concepts and words, and this is achieved by ‘making things stand out’ (Demjen, p24, 2017). On line 1, the word ‘Nature’ is foregrounded as it has a capital letter, even though it is the second word of the poem. This is subverting grammatical norms to draw the reader’s attention to the word, ‘Nature’. It is clear that the poem is concerned with the natural world and this is reinforced throughout the poem. On line 3 Bishop refers to ‘foliage’, before applying repetition of the word , ‘leaves’; ‘ big leaves, little leaves and giant leaves’. Repetition is an effective method of making words stand out and call attention to themselves, something which Jakobson considered to be , ‘the poetic function of language’ (Demjen, p28, 2017). Bishop is drawing attention to the word ‘leaves’ to further reinforce the concept of nature within the poem and this is further enhanced by the alliteration present in ‘little leaves’ which is also an effective foregrounding technique; also evident on line 13, ‘rust red’. Line 20, ‘perching there in profile’ and ‘puffed and padded’ (line 22) are further examples of phonetic parallelism of which alliteration is an example of (p27, 2017). The repetition of colours throughout the poem is noticeable and it is clear that Bishop is foregrounding the theme of colours throughout the poem, by using unexpected repetition. (Demjen, p27, 2017). Line 12 is a good example of this creative technique, as the unexpected repetition of, ‘yellow, two yellows’ stands out as incongruous and reinforces the word yellow and the theme of colour.

Bishop also uses figurative language throughout the poem in order to defamilarise the familiar and create deviation from semantic norms (Demjen, p27, 2017).This is evident on line 37 with the simile ‘ hard as nails’ comparing one thing to another, which is followed up on line 38 with another simile, ‘ tiny as nails’. This draws attention to nails particularly as the well-known simile, ‘hard as nails’ is followed up by an unfamiliar simile. This deviation puts us firmly in the region of poetics as the poet tries to create a deeper meaning by semantic deviation, Draycott suggesting that, ‘ The poetic imagination…isn’t interested so much in what things are really like as [to] what they suggest’ (Demjen, p127, 2017). Bishop also uses metaphor to achieve this creative effect, obvious on line 29 where she describes a colour as ‘hell green’, which is unusual, as one may expect the colour red to be associated with hell, given its historical association with fire. Here we have another example of foregrounding, achieved by ‘playing with our preconceptions’ (Jeffries and McIntyre, p5, 2010). This line is particularly creative as it has used metaphor for poetic effect, whilst also defamilarising the colour green in its relationship with the concept of hell. Bishop further uses metaphor to compare one thing with another, on line 31 which references, ‘scaling-ladder vines’.

There are also examples of creativity within the poem viewed through the contextual lens. Demjen states that ‘the contextual lens focuses on the social, cultural and historical context of language use’, (p31, 2017). I would consider that lines 47-48 could be viewed through this lens as it references a specific song that can provide insight into the cultural context of the time, ‘Directly after Mass, humming perhaps/ L’Homme arme or some such tune’. Although the context is unclear to me, further research may reveal this tune to be particularly relevant to the effect the poet is putting across, and is relevant to how creativity is viewed through the contextual lens.

The final lens used to identify linguistic creativity is the critical lens which ‘highlights the role of creativity in evaluation and how it is evaluated itself’ (Demjen, p41, 2017). In this instance we only have a printed poem and little information about the author or poem. I would consider it fair to assume that due to it being published as part of a volume of poems (The complete poems: 1927-79) it is part of a body of work considered highly enough to be published and also to be used for an Open University assignment. It suggests a poet who has achieved recognition and has been critically well received, which can certainly shape ones opinions, when it comes to analysing the poem for linguistic creativity.

In conclusion we can see how Bishop has used creative effects such as, parallelism, deviation, rhyme, repetition and figurative language to achieve the creative effect of foregrounding within poetics. I consider the textual lens to be the most useful lens for this assignment, given the lack of background information available, yet with deeper research one may also consider the contextual lens to be revealing, whilst the critical lens also affects ones thinking, given the critical esteem given to a published poet.

Bibliography

1. Demjen, Z. (2017) ‘What is linguistic creativity’ in Demjen, Z. and Seargeant, P. (eds) Creativity in Language, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp17-54
2. Jeffries, L and McIntyre, D. (2010) Stylistics, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press pp 1-65
3. Monaghan, F and Cook, G. (2017) ‘Creativity in translation’ in Demjen, Z. and Seargeant, P. (eds) Creativity in Language, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp173-209
4. Neale, D.. (2017) ‘Creativity and creative writing’ in Demjen, Z. and Seargeant, P. (eds) Creativity in Language, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp121-166
5. Peplow, D.. (2017) ‘Creativity in everyday conversation’ in Demjen, Z. and Seargeant, P. (eds) Creativity in Language, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, The Open University, pp67-108

Elizabeth Bishop is an American famous poet however; life was not always easy for her. She lost her father when she was still a baby and her mother was sent to a mental hospital and Elizabeth never saw her again. After that, she lived with her maternal grandparents in a village. Later on, when her paternal family gained her custody, she was separated from her maternal grandparents and she found herself lonely in her new home. She got sick during her childhood and was suffering from asthma. She published her first collection of poem in 1946. “The fish” is one of her most famous poems.

“The fish” by Elizabeth Bishop has no specific rhythm scheme and it is mostly written in free verse style . It is a story written in first person point of view and the speaker is a fisherman/woman who catches a “tremendous” fish. As the speaker examines this fish carefully, he/she realizes that there is something special about it, and in the end, he/she lets the fish go. I am going to study what is so special about this fish and the reason why the speaker releases the fish back into the water.

Imagery

“The fish” is a very descriptive poem, with strong imagery to the point that the reader can imagine the fish in their head with its details. The speaker has caught a “tremendous” fish and the use of adjectives such as “homely” (line 9), “battered” (line 8) makes the reader see that this fish is not beautiful. It is a big, plain-looking and damaged fish. The frequent uses of similes such as “his brown skin hung in strips like ancient wallpaper” (on lines 10-11), its pattern of darker brown was like wallpaper” (on line 12-13) also makes it easier for the reader to imagine the fish and its appearance.

At the same time however, the speaker uses flower’s shapes and patterns such as “shapes like full-blown roses” (on line 14) or “fine rosettes of lime” (on line 17 ) or “a peony” (on line 33) to describe this “homely”, not so beautiful fish which creates a contrast because flowers are usually seen as beautiful.

As the speaker is observing, he/she notices the “frightening gills” (on line 24) of the fish and it is like a moment of fear for him/her because the gills “can cut so badly” (on line 26). The use of dashes on line 24 to 26 is to separate her thoughts and fear in that moment from the rest of the description. Then the speaker uses a metaphor to illustrate the flesh of the fish, which is “packed in like feathers” (on line 28)

A survivor

On line 8, the speaker uses the adjective “battered” which means assaulted and damaged. As we go further into the poem, we understand the reason why that is. The fish

Just a few moments

The poem consists of 76 short lines which makes it seem like a long story and which gives the illusion that the story is taking a long time. However, the poem is mostly description of the fish and nothing much is really happening. In fact, the whole story is probably taking only a couple of minutes since the fish cannot breathe outside of water and it would have died if it was out for a long time. So therefore the encounter is not very long, but because the poem seems long, we get the illusion that the speaker is observing the fish for a very long time. The fact that the stanzas are short, and there is enjambment between the lines, forces the reader to go to the next line and it makes the reading take longer. The anaphora on line 65, “I stared and stared” also gives into this illusion.

The admiration

From the moment the speaker catches the fish, he/she seems to have a sense of respect for this fish as he uses the adjective “venerable” (on line 8) to describe it, which means respectable. Once again, on line 45, “I admired his sullen face”, the speaker is using the verb “admire” which is a strong word to show your appreciation. As the speaker continues to examine the fish more carefully, he/she notices the “five big hooks” that tried to catch this fish and he/she calls it as “medals with their ribbons” (on line 61) which demonstrates the admiration he/she has for this fish. The speaker sees this fish as a fighter and as a soldier who has escaped death, and now these “hooks” on him represent “medals” for its bravery. He/she also refers to them as “a five-haired beard of wisdom” (on line 63) which is another metaphor and it just indicates that to the speaker, this fish is full of experiences and wisdom.

The power

On the first line, the speaker says, “I caught a tremendous fish” and then again, on line 3 he indicates that he did it “with my hook”. The use of subject “I” in the very beginning of the poem and the possessive pronoun “my” makes it seems like the speaker is very proud of himself/herself. He/she feels powerful about catching this big fish. On lines 5 and 6, he/she repeats himself/herself by saying “He didn’t fight. He hadn’t fought at all.” using a full stop punctuation, which can convey a disappointment in him/her. The speaker then goes on to observing the fish. On line 23, the speaker still has power over this fish because he/she is holding it outside of water and it makes it impossible for the fish to breath hence he/she uses the oxymoron of “terrible oxygen”.

A sudden realization

On line 47, the speaker says “and then I saw” and it is a turning point in the poem because the speaker finds out that this fish is not a normal fish, it’s a fighter and it’s a survivor. There have been five others who have tried to catch it but they failed and now “all their five big hooks [have] grown firmly in his mouth.” (on lines 54-55)

“A five-haired beard of wisdom trailing from his aching jaw” on line 63, indicates that up to this point, the speaker feel proud of himself/herself to have caught the “wise” fish that nobody else could. However, now he/she has a great amount of respect and admiration for this fish and he realizes that he cannot be the one to take the life of it. Therefore, “victory” fills up the boat (on line 66) which means a victory for the fish, because the speaker is going to let the fish go.

Use of colours

From the beginning of poem, the speaker continuously uses different colours such as “brown” (line 10), “white” (on line 19), “green” (on line 21), “reds and blacks” (on line 30), “pink” (on line 32), “yellow” (on line 36), to describe the fish. And in the end, on line 69 “where oil had spread a rainbow” the mix of oil and water in the boat has created a rainbow like colour which makes the speaker realize that the fish is just like a rainbow with all these many colours that it has and it is beautiful.

In the 20th century, it is an era of prosperity of America, change with each passing day. With the development of new technologies makes public convenient and colorful, however, it causes numerous chaos around the world simultaneously. All those fresh things start to be mainstream in people’s life, people enjoy new songs and new movies, then they become the fan of the singers or movie stars, like Audrey Hepburn, Michael Jackson, etc. But there are always some cultures which are popularized by people will be last forever. In the year 1916, Elizabeth Bishop is born in Worcester, Massachusetts, United States. Elizabeth Bishop, who is a rising star, is one of the greatest American poetesses of the 20th century. After graduating from Vassar Women’s University on the Hudson River in 1934, she roamed and moved between Canada, United States, Latin America, Europe and North Africa for dozens of times. Her first book, North & South, is first published in 1946 and wins the Houghton Mifflin Prize for poetry. A few years later, she wins the Pulitzer Prize for this book in 1956. According to the name of Bishop’s poetry, North & South, Questions of Travel and Geography III, it is not hard to find her passion about travel. The perception of geography is always Bishop’s creative inspiration and help her purifying the soul through the journey.

The map, as the first poem which is recorded in the North & South, is her masterpiece undoubtedly and is also a typical landscape poem. The reason why Bishop’s poetry is the apex, is not only because of her skilled rhetoric and elegant statement, but also she is good at observation and finds uniqueness of life. Bishop has a delicate mind, her works has the characteristic of tradition emotionally, combined with the advantage of modernism at the same time. The map describes some slight object – “see-weeded”, “sandy”, “glass”, “fish” and “hare”, those words reflect the high abilities of Bishop’s insight. Then, she delineates the big object, like “moon”, “sea”, “mountain”, “towns” and so on (Bishop, Giroux & Schwartz, 2008). After that, Bishop mixes all the objects, link them and insert them into the closely related line to picture the whole image of the landscape. Bishop shows the world in her eyes perfectly by her unique poetic language. “Stylistically, the most impressive gestures in this direction are phrases that combine emblems from all of the temporalities … Much of the poem concerns itself with similar interactions and blendings” (Cureton, 2016, p. 53). In my opinion, the method which Bishop builds the structure of The map, breaks the rule in that era. No matter whether it is a creature, a landscape or a daily life, there is a unique discovery and her mentor is Charles Darwin. Bishop has the sensation of words and tones of nature, and it is her nature to focus on detail description.

Presumably, Bishop tries to develop distinct poetics by choosing geography as the metaphor to mirror social problems in that period, because of her subtle observation. The map is first publicized around the 1950s when Bishop visits in New York City. This happens to be the period of American feminist movement and social issue is always a creative motive. The most of female poets think Bishop is hostile towards the movement, since she refuses to have her work published in all female poetry anthologies. But she still considers herself as a strong feminist, she only wants to be judged due to her quality of writing instead of her gender or sexual orientation. Bishop’s poetry has a series of comparison between object to express her ideas, for example, we can easily find out that there are light and shadow; sea and sky; town and forest in The Map as comparable subject, to tell us that she has different thoughts and does not wish to be assimilated even they are under the same sky or in the same earth. “As elsewhere in Bishop, geographic scale here indicates that there can be no escape to distinctive individuality, entirely separate from others…” (Hollister, 2012, p. 427). In addition, I think the words “runs”, “quiet” and “investigate” represent Bishop is tired to be hurt by those gossip and begins the journey of spirit to relax herself.

Certainly, Bishop much favors geography over history in both realistically and psychologically. I think she tries to inspire creativity and imagination by geography. At the end of The Map, Bishop indicates clearly in words that “More delicate than the historians’ are the map-makers’ colors” (Bishop, Giroux & Schwartz, 2008). As I said before, the poem not just implies the style of her writing, but also shows that Bishop is a highly skilled poet. She signifies a great number of tiny object and then combines them into a line by metaphor and personification. “The rhythm of ‘The Map’ also presents a brilliantly delicate configuration of interacting psychic opposites/ complements” (Cureton, 2016, p. 57). In this way, while emphasizing the rhythm of poetry, it is also linked in the audience’s mind and stimulates our imagination. A Mexican poet, Octavio Paz, called Bishop that she is a fantasy realism. The words and phrases are so realistic, nonetheless, the rhythms are so illusory.

In the year 1979, a star fall, Elizabeth Bishop freezes herself at the age of 68. If I have to describe her in one word, it would be unsentimental. However, it does not mean she is a cold blood person, I believe deeply in her heart that she is an emotional woman with passion since she loves to travel around the world. Also, the friendship between Bishop and Marianne Moore is the best evidence to prove her susceptibility. Bishop is fascinated by geography through her entire life, she gets a lot of creativity from geography and her poems attach great importance to objective things and are full of precious respect and curiosity for nature and the world. Therefore, her poems have an overall texture, which is elegant and delicate, accurate and strange. And applied her unique analysis to poetry to express her views on social issues. The Map set a tone of her particular writing style and geography offers endless inspiration, that might be the reason why her works are all splendid.

Bibliography

1. Bishop, E., Giroux, R., & Schwartz, L. (2008). Poems, prose, and letters (Library of America; 180). New York: Library of America: Distributed in the U.S. by Penguin Putnam.
2. Cureton, Richard. (2016). A reading in temporal poetics: Elizabeth Bishop’s ‘The Map’. Style, 50(1), 37-64.
3. Hollister, Susannah L. (2012). Elizabeth Bishop’s geographic feeling. Twentieth Century Literature, 58(3), 399.

Introduction

Elizabeth Bishop’s poem ‘One Art’ is a poignant exploration of loss and the art of mastering it. Through her precise and controlled language, Bishop captures the universal experience of losing and the subsequent attempts to cope with the inevitable. This literary analysis essay will delve into the key themes and literary devices employed by Bishop in ‘One Art,’ highlighting the poem’s structure, imagery, and the powerful emotions evoked by her craft.

Body

Structure and Form

Bishop employs a villanelle form in ‘One Art,’ consisting of five tercets and a concluding quatrain. This structured repetition serves as a framework for the gradual progression of loss depicted in the poem. The recurring lines, such as “The art of losing isn’t hard to master,” create a sense of rhythm and pattern, mirroring the repetition of losses in life.

Theme of Loss

The central theme of ‘One Art’ revolves around the acceptance of loss as an inherent part of life. Bishop presents a range of losses, both small and significant, from misplaced keys to lost loved ones. Through this progression, she explores the complexities of loss and the gradual erosion of control. The repetition of the phrase “…losing them… losing you” emphasizes the universality of loss and the emotional weight it carries.

Imagery

Bishop employs vivid and precise imagery throughout the poem, heightening the reader’s sensory experience. The use of visual and tactile imagery, such as “flustered, / …shuffled in the drawer” and “vaster, / …itself, than maps” draws the reader into the speaker’s world, allowing them to empathize with the losses being described. The rich imagery serves to intensify the emotional impact of the poem.

Control and Irony

Despite the theme of loss, Bishop maintains a controlled and detached tone throughout the poem. This irony underscores the speaker’s attempt to convince herself and others that loss is an art that can be mastered. The repetition of the phrase “…that’s not it” reveals the speaker’s underlying struggle to maintain composure in the face of profound loss. This juxtaposition of control and vulnerability adds depth to the poem’s exploration of human emotions.

Paradoxical Nature of Loss

Bishop skillfully explores the paradoxical nature of loss in ‘One Art.’ While the repeated line “The art of losing isn’t hard to master” suggests a nonchalant attitude towards loss, the accumulating losses gradually reveal the speaker’s true vulnerability. The final stanza, with its admission that losing someone deeply loved is indeed a “disaster,” challenges the initial assertion and exposes the inherent difficulty of accepting such loss.

Conclusion

Elizabeth Bishop’s ‘One Art’ is a masterful exploration of the art of losing and the profound impact of loss on human experience. Through her skillful use of structure, imagery, and irony, Bishop invites readers to reflect on their own encounters with loss and the complex emotions that accompany it. The poem’s repetitive and controlled form serves as a backdrop for the gradual unraveling of the speaker’s composure, ultimately revealing the deep-seated vulnerability within. ‘One Art’ stands as a testament to Bishop’s ability to capture the essence of the human condition, leaving readers with a profound appreciation for the delicate balance between control and surrender in the face of loss.