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Poetry Exploration Of Elizabeth Bishop's Five A. M.

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Jeremy Hwang Mrs. Creelman AP/GT Phoenix IV, Period 7 28 January 2018 Poetry Exploration Five A.M. is a time in which most people are usually asleep, yet those who are awake get to experience the solemn time of day. Five A.M. by William Stafford and Five Flights Up by Elizabeth Bishop convey different points of view and state of mind during this exclusive time of day. Stafford asks rhetorical questions and ponders in the serenity of Five A.M. Bishop on the other hand expresses her currently disturbed mood, which is affected by her subjective opinions on her surroundings. Both speakers depict a similar scene of morning experience, but both portray different states of mind. Stafford’s poem is written in free verse style that plays off an easy …show more content…

She writes in a “confessional” writing style that emphasizes imagery that is precise and true to life, which reflects her moral sense. The first stanza is from the Bishop’s point of view. The second stanza is from the bird’s point of view. The third stanza is from the dog’s point of view. The fourth stanza is back to the Bishop’s point of view. The Five Flights Up reveals some kind of hardship, which can be interpreted in the fact that a flight of stairs symbolizes overcoming a difficult journey or struggle. Five Flights Up is a lyric poem because Bishop expresses her personal feeling throughout the poem. Bishop clearly gives of the sad feeling and seems to be going through some difficult struggle. Bishop uses denotation in which quavering to sound, speak or sting tremulously through the addition of triple dashes. The ponderous style rambles Stafford’s Five A.M. yet differs in that the loose, free feeling is replaced with great weight or heavy hearted. Bishop is also meticulous and is nitpicky and descriptive into all the precise details. Personification is used multiple times along with sensory images. The tone of Five Flights Up starts off calm and ponderous to anger and stress that Bishop seems to be going through during the time of day. Tension of tone is important to Bishop as she clearly expresses her feelings towards her surroundings. The poem starts in present tense and …show more content…

Stafford seems to relive himself of his problems and ask where they have gone off to in such a way that proves his free mindset. This free mindset conflicts with Bishop’s problematic point in her life. Stafford acknowledges problems in the sense that they exist but chooses to not let them give him a struggle in his morning as peaceful as it is. Bishop is intimidated by her problems and is upset that they exist, bothering her as they are. Her imagery is also quite potent compared to Stafford’s soft reminiscent description, in that they are sharp and eerily cold. Bishop presents herself in a way that her surroundings tower over her and she is at victim while in Stafford’s poem he is unbothered and without a care in the world. Both poems include the dog that lives in the neighborhood. Stafford’s view on the dog is an addition to family and increases the friendliness of the morning walk. Bishops view differs in that the dog runs while being scolded by its owner, evading its troubles unlike how Bishop is unable to. Bishop is jealous of the dog’s inability to feel shame because how stressful she is. She wants things to be taken care of and to find a solution to her questions. Five Flights Up shares similarities to a rant of common problems with personal feelings involved. Bishop’s 4 stanzas have a disorganized order seemingly like

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