Week 4 Discussion - One Art

[Prof. Sky Alton]

This week we’re discussing “One Art” by Elizabeth Bishop.

Elizabeth Bishop was a Pulitzer Prize winning poet. She is often regarded as one of the most important American poets of the 20th century, in spite of only publishing 101 poems in her lifetime. Most of her poetry is written in a very observational style, full of vivid detail. Much of it was inspired by things she saw on her travels in various different countries.

Click here to read her poem “One Art”.

This is an example of a villanelle, a poetic form which consists of 5 3 line stanzas (tercets) and 1 4 line stanza to finish (a quatrain). The first and third line of the first stanza are used throughout as the ending for the stanzas that follow (stanza 2 ends with line 1, stanza 3 with line 3, stanza 4 with line 1, stanza 5 with line 3 and both 1 and 3 for the final quatrain). Sometimes a poet will tweak the repeating lines a little from their original, which is what Bishop does here.

Feel free to share any thoughts you had while reading: how the poem made you feel, any lines that stood out or what it made you think of. You can also discuss the technical elements of the poem, like themes, images, the meter and the way the poet uses language. If someone else has said something that you find interesting, you should definitely respond to them – this is a discussion, after all.

If you get stuck, you could think about poems that use more rigid structures, like this one. What do you think the structure adds to the poem? Or maybe you aren’t a fan of the more structured kind of poem and prefer free verse?

Providing what you share is respectful and HOL-appropriate, it’s completely up to you!

Your response should be at least 80 words long for full credit and must be written in your own words. While quoting from the poem is absolutely fine, you do need to write 80 words of your own content along with the quotes.

Post your responses below by 23:59 HOL-time on the 20th of August to earn 20 beans!

[Dibyarup James Potter]

The poem “One Art”, by Elizabeth Bishop, delves into the "art of losing," a profound exploration of the poet's adeptness in grappling with poignant bereavement and desolation. Starting with trifling losses such as misplaced door keys, she tells us to embrace discomfort, a baby step towards mastering the art of loss.

Her discourse advances to more profound territory, contemplating the forfeiture of memory itself—of one's whereabouts, the names of familiar faces, and the knowledge of our destinations in life. She then talks about losing her mother's watch and one of her three houses, assuring us that mental fortitude can be cultivated to deal with such losses as well.

Using hyperbole, she acknowledges that forsaking cities, rivers, or even a vast continent would evoke yearning, yet not culminate in catastrophe.

However, the tone shifts as she finally unveils her heartache over losing a beloved person. The identity of this person and their connection to the poet, remains unknown, however, something that we can be certain of is that the poet has failed to master this particular loss. She recalls some endearing aspects of this person—their joking voice, a gesture she adores—eventually acknowledging that the art of losing does indeed pose a challenge, though not insurmountable and that losses, at times, may indeed seem like a disaster.

the art of losing’s not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

In the poem's final moments, her composure wavers. The forceful interjection, "Write it!" and the repetition of "like", lay bare her difficulty in reconciling with loss. For the first time, we see her façade of confidence and humour dissolve, revealing her profound human vulnerability, akin to us all. As she forces herself to write the word "disaster", one last time, the poet stands revealed in her essence—fragile and genuine, just like the rest of us.

[Janne Halla]

I'm not a big fan of poems, but I love the way Elizabeth Bishop uses words and repetition in this poem. She says losing isn't a disaster, even though it might feel like it sometimes. She tells us not to be too sad when we lose stuff because it's a natural part of life.

The poem ends with losing someone really special, something we all connect to in one way or another, but it still has a hopeful message. It says that even though losing people we love is hard, we can still get through it and be okay.

I really like the message of this poem overall and it's one of my favorites in this Festival.