'One Art' By Elizabeth Bishop

“One Art” Commentary The poem “One Art” by Elizabeth Bishop effectively suggests that an individual’s experience with the loss of a beloved person develops the feelings of sorrow and disaster which is tremendously challenging to accept and overcome. Through the use of irony and a sophisticated and convincing tone, Bishop showcases the speaker’s lack of self-confidence as shown when the speaker breaks down mentally approaching the end of the poem. Additionally, Bishop’s use of symbolism and eloquent imagery further exaggerates the speaker’s difficult process in attaining the awareness of the reality of loss. Therefore, the poem “One Art” by Elizabeth Bishop highlights that despite an individual’s experience with the loss of irrelevant material

At first, the speaker appears to confidently state that the feelings of loss “[is not] hard to overcome.” However, one may begin to question the legitimacy of his confidence as the speaker frequently utilizes the same phrase repeatedly. The fact that the speaker persistently repeats the words highlights the lack of self-confidence displayed by the speaker, as well, as the poem develops, the repetition grows increasingly ironic. This degree of lack of self-confidence is further emphasized through the speaker’s diction. The speaker imperatively commands herself to “accept the fluster” of the feelings of loss, which suggests the speaker’s attempt to influence the audience--and ultimately herself to admit that “things” are intended “to be lost”. Furthermore, the use of a melodic device, “losing farther, losing faster” depicts the scale of the speaker’s loss is increasing as the poem develops, leading to the speaker’s reflection and admission of their honest beliefs towards the feelings of loss. As well, the use of two em dashes at the beginning of line sixteen, showcases a pause in the speaker’s speech, which clearly indicate the speaker’s hesitance and their struggle to accept their thoughts expressed in the previous stanzas. Ironically, in stanza six, the speaker stated

Initially, the speaker relates loss to non-relevant physical objects to deter her from convincing herself otherwise--that loss “isn’t hard to master” and is “no disaster”. Primitively, Bishop describes the “lost door keys”, and the hours “badly spent”. Since she has experienced wasting time and misplacing keys many times throughout her life, she was initially able to convince herself that loss is simple to overcome. As the poem progresses, Bishop expand to objects with heightened significance, discussing the “places” she has been to, and “names” that has been forgotten. These losses; however, are still unimportant to the speaker to communicate a degree of sadness. Furthermore, the referral of the speaker’s “mother’s watch” showcases an item of sentimental value; although the speaker casually mentions the loss of a simple item, she really brings into the poem an object with emotional implication. In ways, the audience is able to relate the watch as a symbol of relationship and love between the speaker and the speaker’s mother. The speaker also counts the “next-to-to last” “loved houses” which moved past from her life. The repetition of the “to”s and the use of dashes between the words in the poem “One Art” symbolizes a deep recollection of experiences that had once occurred during her life by which the speaker reflects upon,