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Elizabeth BishopA modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
1. Reread “One Art” with close consideration of the tone or emotional tenor conveyed by the speaker's voice. Describe the tone in one or two words. How does the tone relate to the subject matter? Does it seem appropriate? What effect does the tone have on the speaker’s argument that “the art of losing isn’t hard to master”?
2. While it is important to remember that a poem’s author and speaker are not necessarily one and the same, biographical information about the author often provides illuminating context for a poem or other text. Elizabeth Bishop’s biography reveals she sustained significant losses throughout her life: Her father died during her infancy; her mother was institutionalized when Bishop was 5, and Bishop never saw her again; and Bishop wrote this poem after she returned to the United States following the death by suicide of her Brazilian lover. What various losses are mentioned in “One Art”? How does Bishop’s personal history open up different readings of the poem?
3. Elizabeth Bishop was not enthusiastic about confessional poetry, which gained prominence in the United States in the 1950s. Confessional poets like Bishop’s good friend Robert Lowell revealed personal, often painful details of their lives in their verse. Consider how “One Art” is both revelatory and restrained in terms of expressing Bishop’s personal history and feelings.
By Elizabeth Bishop
A Miracle for Breakfast
A Miracle for Breakfast
Elizabeth Bishop
Arrival at Santos
Arrival at Santos
Elizabeth Bishop
Crusoe in England
Crusoe in England
Elizabeth Bishop
Exchanging Hats
Exchanging Hats
Elizabeth Bishop
First Death in Nova Scotia
First Death in Nova Scotia
Elizabeth Bishop
Five Flights Up
Five Flights Up
Elizabeth Bishop
Insomnia
Insomnia
Elizabeth Bishop
Sandpiper
Sandpiper
Elizabeth Bishop
Sestina
Sestina
Elizabeth Bishop
The Armadillo
The Armadillo
Elizabeth Bishop
The Fish
The Fish
Elizabeth Bishop
The Imaginary Iceberg
The Imaginary Iceberg
Elizabeth Bishop
The Moose
The Moose
Elizabeth Bishop
The Mountain
The Mountain
Elizabeth Bishop
The Shampoo
The Shampoo
Elizabeth Bishop