1. First Death in Nova Scotia
Elizabeth Bishop

2. Background Published in her early fifties
Recounts the extraordinary vivid memory of her cousins death
Written in the past tense, we visualise the events surrounding Arthurs death through a child’s eyes
Background

3. Stanza 1 & 2 Setting: ’cold, cold parlor’
What is the purpose of the repetition here?
‘Cold’: signifying death -
‘Parlor’ suggests that a family occasion/event is taking place
Focus shifts to the the stuffed loon:
Why?
What does this tell us about the mind-set of the poet?
Comparisons can be drawn to Arthur later on ‘deep and white…red glass’

4. ‘Jack frost has started to paint him’ but in the end ‘left him white’
Stanza 3 & 4
Bishop comes face to face with death, in the form of ‘A little frosted cake…frozen lake’
Metaphor to emphasises Arthurs youth
‘I was lifted up’ shows how young Bishop was
‘Jack frost has started to paint him’ but in the end ‘left him white’
Bishop explains how she tried to make sense of the situation when she was child

5. Stanza 5 ‘But how could Arthur go, clutching his tiny lily’
She realises he is incapable of opening his eyes
Even if he could wake up he is to young to travel to the Kings court alone

6. Theme Moment of Awareness Childhood
Young girl unaware of death becomes uncomfortable with the reality of death
Childhood
Captures the childhood mentality of her young speaker
Childhood innocence is displayed several times