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Marjie Williams
Mrs. Pritchard
English II
6 April 2016
The Low-Key Confessional Poet
Elizabeth Bishops reticence caused her to avoid writing about her personal life, but many
times, her relationships and experiences can be connected to her poetry. Bishop endured a hard
childhood filled with loss, constant moving amongst family members, and health issues. While
not considered a confessional poet, Bishop could not refrain from being influenced by her life
when writing. Her poems including In the Waiting Room, The Fish, One Art, and
Insomnia give an excellent example of connections between Bishops life and writing.
Elizabeth Bishop was deeply affected by her interpersonal relationships and experiences that
came along with them, and although she is known for her reticence, many significant moments in
her life can be connected to her poetry.
Elizabeth Bishop lost meaningful people in her life at a young age, exposing her to harsh
truths in the world. Bishop was born in Worchester, Massachusetts on February 9, 1911. Her
father died from kidney disease when she was eight months old, and at the age of five, Bishops
mother was institutionalized for her unstable mental health. Bishop never experienced a normal
childhood because she moved around between her grandparents and could not attend school
regularly due to health issues (Harold). Until settling with her aunt, Bishop was never happy with
her living situation, and found happiness and stability in her new home, and later credited her
aunt with having saved her (Oakes). After finding comfort with her aunt, Bishop wrote a poem
many years later called In the Waiting Room where she depicts her life in Massachusetts and
questions the connections between everything in the world. In the poem, Bishop is six years old
and waiting for her aunt during her dentist appointment. While looking through a National

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Geographic magazine, she sees the inside of a volcano (Bishop 17) and babies with pointed
heads / wound round and round with string (Bishop 26-27). After hearing a scream from her
aunt, Bishop begins to question her identity and the connections between everything. Trying to
calm herself down, Bishop tells herself, But I felt: you are an I / you are an Elizabeth / you are
one of them (Bishop 60-62). She sees herself as insignificant and unique at the same time, and
throughout the poem, she questions her overall identity. The amount of loss and instability that
she has experienced in 6 years connects to why she is questioning who she is. Growing up
without a mother, father, or a traditional adolescent experience had to have affected Bishop
deeply and caused her to write about her life up to that point. As Bishop grows older, she makes
new relationships that not only influence the content of her writing but the style of her writing as
well.
Elizabeth Bishop was highly influenced by other writers including Marianne Moore and
Robert Lowell and valued their criticism on her poetry. Bishop and Moore met at Vassar College,
and Moore first affected Bishops life when she convinced her to leave medical school to become
a poet (Kort). According to Laura Ebberson, Bishop lost her mother shortly before meeting
Moore and Moore somewhat eliminated this void, by providing support and guidance for
Bishop. Moore had a unique writing style in which she was meticulous about language and
focused on American culture. Another prominent writer that critiqued Bishops poems was
Robert Lowell, who was a confessional poet. He was known for more exaggerated and personal
poetry. Both influenced Bishops writing extensively, and different aspects of their writing style
are found within Bishops poetry. In The Fish, the narrator catches a fish and examines its
worn-out appearance before letting it free. Bishop uses imagery and many color descriptions to

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show her respect for the fish because of its strength. Before letting the fish free, the narrator
looks at the fish for a long time and admires its ability to live for so long:
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 (Bishop 45-50)
Bishop uses precise diction to describe the fishs ability to stay alive and survive being caught at
least five times. When the narrator admires the fish, they are showing the interest and respect
they have for it. Moores style of honest and detailed work relates to the same techniques used by
Bishop in The Fish. Bishop describes every moment of catching the fish, observing it, and
finally letting it go. Over many years, Moore had a large impact on Bishops life through writing
and other people, including Lota Soares, affected Bishops life as well.
Travel was a large part of Bishops life along with writing, and after visiting Brazil, she
fell in love with the people, culture, and land. Also, she met Lota Soares, who would become her
partner for the next 15 years (Bloom). Bishop suffered from alcoholism and depression, and
Soares helped Bishop recognize and fight these problems (Oakes). In 1967, Soares was visiting
Bishop in New York and committed suicide one night. This loss took an enormous toll on Bishop
because Soares was such an important person to her. Bishops poem, One Art, evaluates the
art of losing and how to make it easier. The poem, written in an ABA rhyme scheme, has
particular diction that makes the poem flow. In the beginning, small objects without value are

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talked about, and as the story progresses, there is a more emotional connection to the lost items.
Keys, watches, and homes get lost, but nothing compares to the loss of this significant person,
Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture / I love) I shant have lied. Its evident / the art of
losings not too hard to master (Bishop 16-18). Clearly, the person in the poem had a
tremendous influence on Bishops life and losing them was difficult for Bishop. From a young
age, Bishop experienced a substantial amount of pain, and this poem conveys how much she had
gone through. Other pieces connect to Bishops life and portray the different experiences she has.
According to Harold Bloom, Bishop was a beloved perfectionist and was known for
spending years writing and improving a piece. The dedication and work she puts into her writing
reveals how much a person or experience impacted her life. Bishop never labeled herself as a
confessional poet, but one sees her reliance on personal experiences as subjects in much of her
poetry (Ebberson). These personal experiences, while she tried to avoid writing about them, are
seen in Insomnia. The poem begins with a description of the moons reflection in a mirror.
Throughout the poem, the reader sees that this person is living in an alternate universe:
where left is always right,
where the shadows are really the body,
where we stay awake all night,
where the heavens are shallow as the sea
is now deep, and you love me. (Bishop 13-18)
This person cannot face reality, so they live in a state of insomnia. Because everything is inverted
and different from real life, the person imagines a world where this other person loves them
back. This absence of love keeps her up at night, and she imagines a life different from the one
she is living. Although the exact person Bishop was writing about cannot be determined, it is

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apparent that they had a great influence on her life. Also, because Bishop could spend years
writing a single poem, this person was important enough for Bishop to continue writing about
them for a long time. Bishop did not want to be considered a confessional poet, but her personal
relationships and experiences played a significant role in her writing.
Elizabeth Bishop went through extreme instability throughout her life whether she lost a
loved one or was managing health issues. She rejected the idea of being a confessional poet, but
could not avoid writing about hard times in her life. After losing her parents and moving around
amongst family members, Bishop was motivated to write In the Waiting Room where she
questions the connections between everything in the world. Marianne Moores writing style is
seen influencing Bishops style in The Fish where both are seen using similar techniques of
precise diction and detailed descriptions. In Insomnia and One Art, Bishop shows the
significance of people and her relationships and how they impact her life tremendously. The
amount of time Bishop spends writing and perfecting a single poem shows their importance.
Although Elizabeth Bishop did not like labels and categorizing her work, she cannot deny the
influence of her interpersonal relationships in her poetry, whether they affected the content or
style of the piece.

Works Cited

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Bishop, Elizabeth. The complete poems, 1927-1979. NY Books, 1983.
- - -. "Insomnia." Poem Hunter. Poem Hunter, 3 Jan. 2003. Web. 7 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/insomnia-2/>.
Bloom, Harold, ed. "Bishop, Elizabeth." Elizabeth Bishop, Bloom's Major Poets. Philadelphia:
Chelsea House Publishing, 2002. Bloom
s Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 4 Mar. 2016 <http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE54&WID=19270&SID=5&iPin=BMPEB02&SingleRecord=True>.
Boyd, William. "'Must we dream our dreams.'" The Guardian 10 Sept. 2010: n. pag. The
Guardian. Web. 6 Mar. 2016. <http://www.theguardian.com/books/2010/sep/11/williamboyd-elizabeth-bishop-brazil>.
Driggers, James. "Bishop, Elizabeth." In Hobby, Blake, ed., and Patricia M. Gant, gen. ed.
Student's Encyclopedia of Great American Writers: 1945 to 1970, vol. 4. New York:
Facts On File, Inc., 2010. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 9 Mar. 2016
<http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE54&WID=19270&SID=5&iPin=SEGAWIV1481&SingleRecord=True>.
Ebberson, Laura. "Elizabeth Bishop's Poetic Voice: Reconciling Influences." Valparaiso Poetry
Review. Valparaiso Poetry Review, n.d. Web. 7 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.valpo.edu/vpr/ebbersonessaybishop.html>.
Issitt, Micah L. "Elizabeth Bishop And The New Yorker: The Complete Correspondence."
MagillS Literary Annual 2012 (2012): 1-3. Literary Reference Center. Web. 9 Mar.
2016.
Kort, Carol. "Bishop, Elizabeth." A to Z of American Women Writers, Revised Edition. New
York: Facts On File, Inc., 2007. Bloom's Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 6 Mar. 2016

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<http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE54&WID=19270&SID=5&iPin=ffazwmwr0012&SingleRecord=True>.
Mintz, Susannah B. "Bishop, Elizabeth." Encyclopedia of American Disability History. Facts On
File, 2009. American History Online. Web. 8 Mar. 2016.
<http://online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/207611?q=elizabeth bishop poet>.
Oakes, Elizabeth H. "Bishop, Elizabeth." American Writers. Facts On File, 2004.American
History Online. Web. 8 Mar. 2016.
<http://online.infobase.com/HRC/Search/Details/193294?q=elizabeth bishop>.
"One Art by Elizabeth Bishop." Poetry Foundation. 2015 Poetry Foundation,
n.d. Web. 29 Feb. 2016. <http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/176996>