Elizabeth Bishop

Sense: The monument is one-third set against
a sea; two-thirds against a sky.
The view is geared
(that is, the view’s perspective)
so low there is no “far away,”
and we are far away within the view.
A sea of narrow, horizontal boards 
lies out behind our lonely monument,
its long grains alternating right and left
like floor-boards–spotted, swarming-still,
and motionless. A sky runs parallel,
and it is palings, coarser than the sea’s:
splintery sunlight and long-fibred clouds.

I really enjoyed Bishop’s perspective of The Monument, she described a lot of imagery in 13 stanzas. I can imagine Bishop participating in out point of view exercise last Friday and this is something that she would say about describing a monument. She was very particular in this description, “The monument is one-third set against a sea; two-thirds against a sky.” Even the way she notices the boards used to make the monument appear as, “A sea of narrow, horizontal boards lies out behind our lonely monument”, Bishop paints the picture of the monument and what makes the monument beautiful.

Nonsense: 

But roughly but adequately it can shelter

what is within (which after all

cannot have been intended to be seen).
It is the beginning of a painting,
a piece of sculpture, or poem, or monument,
and all of wood. Watch it closely.

The first line makes me think that she is speaking to someone and she continues to explain what we should be seeing. Bishop says this calmly too, like we should already see the art in the monument.”it can shelter what is within (which after all cannot have been intended to be seen).” Wait! She is speaking to us in the first line Bishop says it herself and she is directing us, “Now can you see the monument?”


Fish Elizabeth Bishop

Nonsense: “I admired his sullen face, the mechanism of his jaw, and then I saw that from his lower lip —if you could call it a lip— grim, wet, and weaponlike, hung five old pieces of fish-line, or four and a wire leader with the swivel still attached, with all their five big hooks grown firmly in his mouth.”

I thought this quote was funny because Bishop went from opening the poem, “I caught a tremendous fish” I think of people who would have probably reacted overjoyed and have someone take their picture with the fish. Bishop however caught this large fish and sees him exactly how he is right from the scales on his skin. But, this line, “I admired his sullen face, the mechanism of his jaw, and then I saw that from his lower lip” reminded me of the climax of a movie or television. I had to keep scrolling to figure out what she had discovered. Then I look at how she admired his face and the shape of his jaw. She completely forgot about the fishing trip she was having and turned her attention to the object.

Sense:

Here and there his brown skin hung in strips like ancient wallpaper, and its pattern of darker brown was like wallpaper:

He was speckled with barnacles, fine rosettes of lime,

infested with tiny white sea-lice, and underneath two or three rags of green weed hung down. While his gills were breathing in the terrible oxygen —the frightening gills, fresh and crisp with blood,

All I can say is imagery, imagery, imagery! Bishop use of imagery is so clear and she does this very creatively where I can place myself inside the boat with her and I’m standing right beside her as she looks at this fish. Her choice of words are what make this poem enjoyable too, “infested with tiny white sea-lice”, and “While his gills were breathing in the terrible oxygen —the frightening gills, fresh and crisp with blood”

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