One Art by Elizabeth Bishop
Hello fellow beforetv-ers! You may have noticed December 1st has come and gone and that there hasn't been a December novel announced. That's because there's not going to be one! December is a busy month for everyone, what with holiday preparations, yuletide, etc., we decided to give everyone a little break this month. We'll resume monthly books in January.
In the meantime, discussion is still fun! So I'll be discussing one poem every week for the month of December. I know poetry isn't everyone's cup of tea. It wasn't mine either for the longest time, but I had a chance to teach it last year, and I grew to love it a lot! So I hope even if it isn't your normal deal, you'll try and jump in! Poetry isn't so different than prose. The one thing my professor always said is because poetry is by nature much shorter than prose every word is chosen specifically. I think that's true.
"One Art"
by Elizabeth Bishop
The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.
Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.
Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.
I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.
I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.
--Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.
- 1976
Some discussion questions, feel free to talk about the ideas I raise here or whatever strikes your fancy!
1. What do you think of the idea of "mastering" the art of losing? What do you think about the idea of practicing losing things?
2. What do you think the significance of the speaker moving from losing small items to bigger, more abstract things?
3. What do you make of the "Write it!" in the final line?
Just a couple questions to get us started! I hope you all enjoy the poem! :)
In the meantime, discussion is still fun! So I'll be discussing one poem every week for the month of December. I know poetry isn't everyone's cup of tea. It wasn't mine either for the longest time, but I had a chance to teach it last year, and I grew to love it a lot! So I hope even if it isn't your normal deal, you'll try and jump in! Poetry isn't so different than prose. The one thing my professor always said is because poetry is by nature much shorter than prose every word is chosen specifically. I think that's true.
"One Art"
by Elizabeth Bishop
The art of losing isn't hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.
Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.
Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.
I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.
I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.
--Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.
- 1976
Some discussion questions, feel free to talk about the ideas I raise here or whatever strikes your fancy!
1. What do you think of the idea of "mastering" the art of losing? What do you think about the idea of practicing losing things?
2. What do you think the significance of the speaker moving from losing small items to bigger, more abstract things?
3. What do you make of the "Write it!" in the final line?
Just a couple questions to get us started! I hope you all enjoy the poem! :)