Bishop’s poetry Essay

I agree with this assessment of Bishops poetry. Her poetrys on the program certainly pose enkindle questions about identity, ken and ones place in the world, indeed the universe, and they do so by way of a unique style. This style is influenced by Bishops acute aw atomic number 18ness of the poets craft and her ability to work with both traditional forms (sestina and sonnet, for instance) and give up verse. The questions that interested me most argon those posed in Questions of Travel.These fascinated me because Bishop dedicated so much of her life to travel, yet in this poem she questions the motives behind travel and exploration. One stylistic feature that is characteristic of Bishop is the colloquial tone and it is evident in the opening lines, as she states There are too many waterfalls here. The question raised in my consciousness is How mint there be too many waterfalls? Surely the waterfalls are a sight of natural splendour?Yet, reading on, we see that everything in this place of natural beauty over-powers the poet the streams are crowded, they hurry too chop-chop, there are so many clouds. Why is this? She says that the streams and clouds keep locomotion, travelling and this poses the question of her own travels has travel be semen as mo nononous as the relentless waterfalls or is it a type of addiction or destiny for the poet? This question poses more questions when we consider the poets alcoholism and the part vie by addiction in her life.The questions raised in the next stanza come up to themes, which are central to her poetry piazza, exclusion, and the quest for new horizons. Bishop wonders if the idea of a place is more satisfying than the place itself Should we have stayed at home and thought of here? This apparently simple question is loaded with difficulties for Bishop as home was never a simple concept for her. She is acutely witting of herself as an outsider in this culture and feels she is watching strangers in a play in t his strangest of theatres.Bishop describes the urge for travel as a childishness and the image of travellers rushing to see the sun the other way about is an image of thrill-seekers consuming views and experiences without understanding or insight (inexplicable and gravid). I find this very relevant, as we live in a society, which is obsessed with consuming things and experiences, often at the expense of understanding.This image in any case prepares us for the question at the heart of this poem Oh, must we pipe dream our dreams and have them too? I found this question very interesting because dreams are not reality and there are other references to fallacy in this poem strangest of theatres and pantomimists. The question of why we travel and explore is not explicitly answered in the poem but one wonders if it has something to do with charge or escape from reality. The disparity between the real and the imagined is alluded to again in another thought-provoking question Is it l ack of imagination that makes us come To imagined places, not just stay at home? All of our preconceived, modernistic ideas about travel choice, freedom, excitement, broadening of horizons, understanding of other cultures are dour on their head and challenged in the questions raised here about travel. In both Questions of Travel, and The Prodigal, Bishop deals with being away from home and returning. In both poems, the idea of returning is difficult and complex Bishop is not plane sure where home is Should we have stayed at home, wherever that may be? Her sense of displacement is much stronger than her sense of belonging.Similarly, in The Prodigal, the souse in exile must struggle with uncertain staggering leak/his shuddering insights, beyond his control before he can reckon the journey home. A stylistic feature of Bishops work, which I unfeignedly enjoyed, was her tendency, in some poems, to move from sensory description of the apparently casual to profound awareness and insight, even epiphany. This can be seen in In the Waiting Room where Bishop begins with a description of a dull tooth doctors waiting-room, full of grown-up people, arctics and overcoats, lamps and magazines. This is a scene from everyday life in Worcester, Massachusetts.The setting is ordinary, yet the title denotes a place of anticipation and expectation, and raises questions. What can the young Bishop be anticipating or expecting? What is to come? The National Geographic a magazine we could easily expect to see in any waiting-room transports the child, in her imagination, to the inside of a volcano, a far cry from the suaveness of the dentists waiting-room. The images of other races and civilizations are both horrifying and make but the child cannot stop reading them.