In the collection of poems in Geography III, Elizabeth Bishop employs simple language to paint vivid pictures of landscapes. Whether we’re sitting on the edge of “miserable, small volcanoes,” in “Crusoe in England”, or reading (she could read) through a National Geographic at a dentist’s office in “In the Waiting Room,” we are drawn to the setting, or geography, of Bishop’s choice. There’s “Poem”, where the picture she creates with her fluid strokes of language is that of an actual painting. She takes the reader on round-trip journeys, following giant dog-prints (or lion prints) along a frigid shoreline in “The End of March,” and then she leads us on incomplete journeys, such as her bus trip that is suddenly interrupted by, “The Moose”, “curious creatures.” Bishop even manages to brush over the landscape of the heart in “One Art”, where she attempts to convince the reader that “the art of losing isn’t hard to master.”, until she gets to, “you (the joking voice, a gesture I love),” and it becomes clear it is not only the reader she is trying to convince. Just as a map can convey the entire world in one sliver of paper, so too, does Geography III encompass vast emotional and physical terrain.
In reading poetry, I am often left scratching my head at the great contradiction to its actual translation versus my own interpretation; hence, as a rule, poetry and I aren’t on the best of terms. That being said, I must admit that I did not find Elizabeth Bishop at all unbearable to read. I didn’t have to drudge through an other-worldly vernacular with a dictionary in tow as I often do with poetry- in my opinion a foreign enough word in itself! Instead, I found myself appreciating, and even, at times, enjoying Bishop’s use of plain language and her uncanny ability to make simple things appear grand. My favorite piece of the collection is “One Art”. I love the trivial voice of the heartbroken narrator. I would venture to say that the method of denial in coping with loss is not at all foreign to most people, and I am no exception to that rule. In my opinion, Elizabeth Bishop captures it perfectly here. Having endured losing the two greatest things a child can lose-her parents- I’m sure Bishop is all too familiar with just how much loss can resemble disaster.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
It is true that interpretation can be the ultimate exercise in subjectivity, I will agree (and I think everyone can) that Elizabeth Bishop is a natural poet, for whom words are colors with which to paint. Her free-flowing approach to writing is not unlike that of a painter, applying confident brushstrokes to a canvas.
ReplyDeleteOf course, everyone will have his or her own expectations and reservations regarding each individual medium of literature; poetry is usually approached (initially) with fear and confusion, and a poet like Elizabeth Bishop can seem a daunting task at first, but her smooth and relatively easy-to-read style(well...easy compared to some of her not-as-user-friendly contemporaries) makes approaching and interpreting poetry that much less painful, and rather, a rewarding experience.
One cannot deny the beauty in the simplicity of poems such as "In the Waiting Room" and "The Moose"; its plainness is what gives it its power, while also making great poetry more accessible to the lay person.
I agree with what you said about Bishop’s magnificent use of simple language to paint pictures for her readers. I think what she did is truly and art. As for the title for this book full of her works of art, I can see how “Geography III encompasses vast emotional and physical terrain.” I think after reading the poetry and really analyzing it in depth, we can see how appropriate the title is—from certain standpoints at least.
ReplyDeleteJust like you, I often find myself confused after reading poetry. Even when we started reading Bishop, I was hesitant to voice my own thoughts because I thought they were completely different than what other would have to say. I have not spent much time reading, studying, and analyzing poetry so I do not usually get excited when I have to in school. That said, I was able to appreciate Bishop’s poetry for its simplicity just as I am sure you, and most of our classmates were.
I also thought that “One Art” was an especially good poem because of its effectiveness as well as its likelihood to relate to all people. I think you are absolutely correct when you say, “the method of denial in coping with loss is not at all foreign to most people,” and that it is illustrated perfectly in this poem.