Bishop’s poetry Essay

I agree with this assessment of Bishops poetry. Her meters on the syllabus certainly pose interesting querys about identity, sense and iodins business office in the world, indeed the universe, and they do so by means of a unique style. This style is influenced by Bishops acute awargonness of the poets craft and her ability to work with two traditional forms (sestina and sonnet, for instance) and free verse. The drumheads that interested me most are those posed in Questions of Travel.These fascinated me because Bishop dedicated so much of her life to buy the utmostm, provided in this poem she questions the motives behind travel and exploration. One stylistic sport that is characteristic of Bishop is the conversational tone and it is evident in the opening lines, as she states Thither are too many an an otherwise(prenominal)(prenominal) waterfalls here. The question raised in my mind is How can there be too many waterfalls? Surely the waterfalls are a sight of natural spl endour?Yet, indication on, we see that everything in this place of natural beauty over-powers the poet the streams are crowded, they zipper too rapidly, there are so many clouds. wherefore is this? She says that the streams and clouds keep travelling, travelling and this poses the question of her own travels has travel become as monotonous as the relentless waterfalls or is it a type of dependency or compulsion for the poet? This question poses more questions when we consider the poets alcoholism and the part played by addiction in her life.The questions raised in the next stanza address themes, which are central to her poetry dwelling, exclusion, and the quest for natural horizons. Bishop wonders if the idea of a place is more satisfying than the place itself Should we urinate 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 aware of herself as an outsid er in this culture and feels she is ceremonial strangers in a play in this 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 around is an image of thrill-seekers consuming views and experiences without understanding or sixth sense (inexplicable and impenetrable). I find this very relevant, as we kick the bucket in a society, which is obsessed with consuming things and experiences, often at the outgo of understanding.This image also prepares us for the question at the heart of this poem Oh, must we dream our dreams and have them too? I found this question very interesting because dreams are not certainity and there are other references to illusion 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 flight or escape from reality. The disparity between the real a nd the imagined is alluded to again in another thought-provoking question Is it lack of liking that makes us come To imagined places, not just stay at home? All of our preconceived, modern ideas about travel choice, freedom, excitement, broadening of horizons, understanding of other cultures are turned 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 thickening Bishop is not even 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 alcoholic in exile must struggle with unsealed staggering flight/his shuddering insights, beyond his control before he can face the journey home. A stylistic feature of Bishops work, which I really enjoyed, was her tendency, in some poems, to move from sensory interpretation of the apparently mundane 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 dentists waiting-room, full of grown-up people, arctics and overcoats, lamps and magazines. This is a scene from cursory 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 matter 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 blandness of the dentists waiting-room. The images of other races and civilizations are both horrifying and compelling but the child cannot stop reading them.