Elizabeth Bishop Distinct, and difficult to define
Main Themes In ‘The Fish’, ‘Filling Station’, ‘The Prodigal’ and ‘Questions of Travel’
Often present in her poems, in many form (a fish, pigs, a sunrise, a Brazilian mountain range) Nature is powerful, redemptive, inspirational, sustaining. Nature The Fish The Prodigal Questions of Travel Quotes… “I caught a tremendous fish” “The sunrise glazed the barnyard mud with red” “For if those streaks, those mile-long, shiny, tearstains, aren’t waterfalls yet” “Not to have seen them gesturing like noble pantomimists, robed in pink” “Light-lashed, self-righteous…”
Bishop deals with the resilience or the strength of the human spirit in a number of poems – ‘The Fish’ is as much about this as it is a description of a fish; the prodigal son endures his exile; the mother in the filling station adds delicate touches to the home Human Spirit The Fish The Prodigal Filling Station Quotes… “I stared and stared And victory filled up The little rented boat” “till, sickening, he leaned to scratch her head” “he almost thought he might endure his exile yet another year or more” “Somebody embroidered the doily” “Somebody loves us all”
Travel and thoughts of home, or domestic life, are often evident in her work: in ‘Questions’, travelling is as much about our inability to be at home in new cultures as it is about the delights of travel; the Prodigal knows he must return some day; the motherly touches in the filling station surprise and reassure Bishop. Travel/Home Questions of Travel The Prodigal Filling Station Quotes… “Should we have stayed at home, wherever that may be?” “Why the extraneous plant? Why the doily? Why, oh why, the doily?” “But it took him a long time Finally to make his mind up to go home”
Bishop’s own experience informs the prodigal’s motivation for staying. She shares her insight with us through his character. Alcoholism More than any traditional theme, Bishop attempts to understand the subjects of her poetry: their nature, their condition, their culture, their history People/History/Unders tanding
Style Look, Relate, Describe, Think, Rainbow!
Observation – probing – meditation – revelation/insight/epiphany: see ‘The Fish’ and ‘Filling Station’ Pays attention to the insignificant, making it relevant: see all of them! Finds truth, beauty and meaning in the unexpected and insignificant: big ugly fish anyone? Or noisy wooden clogs? Insightful on a public, universal level: ‘Somebody loves us all’ Honest and aware in relation to her self: ‘He hid the pints behind a two-by- four) Personal experience informs her work much more than spiritual, metaphysical, political or intellectual influence, yet her contemplation of her experience leads her to greater insight (rainbow!) Attention to detail Subjective descriptions – see domestic imagery in ‘The Fish’ Deliberately off-hand, casual tone Often humorous or whimsical, ironic: ‘or oils it, maybe’ Masterful control of meter: double sonnets, for example Subtle use of sound effects (alliteration, sibilance, cacophony)
The question: ‘Bishop’s patience, eye for detail and inquisitive mind lead her to find substance and universal truth in the unexpected and the personal.’ Write your response to this statement, with reference....
The Fish Detailed description Colours, textures, patterns Similes are subjective, domestic Patient study allows her to see five hooks Her catch has its own victory Bishop feels a kinship with the fish, a connection, respect and a sense of harmony which leads her to let it go in a moment of epiphany.
Filling Station Persona initially disgusted but patience allows domestic to appear Evidence of family life: ‘a dirty dog, quite comfy’; ‘some comic books’ Domesticity: doily etc is evidence of mother Questioning the scene, Bishop realises the mother figure is not only domestic, she is a creative soul. In spite of the squalor of her home she attempts to add elegance and order to the filling station The non-specific ‘somebody’ along with the use of ‘us’ in the final line elevates Bishop’s observations to the universal. Whether in a spiritual sense or on a human level, be it God or a mother, “somebody loves us all.”
The Prodigal The personal: Underlying psychology of the poem comes from Bishop’s own alcoholism The alcoholic wishes to remain The opening shows no sign of beauty, but Bishop finds it Affection Redemptive power of nature ‘The sunrise’ Spirituality The universal need for companionship Bishop follows in a long tradition of artists depicting this Biblical story, but she uniquely focuses on the squalor and the alcoholic’s desire to remain in his self-imposed, dehumanising exile. However, she colours the story with a sunrise, the warmth of home, and an undeniable sense of the spiritual.
Questions of Travel Patient observation of Brazilian landscape Imagines turning to rivers and waterfalls before her eyes