One Art

1. Reread “One Art” with close consideration of the tone or emotional tenor conveyed by the speaker's voice. Describe the tone in one or two words. How does the tone relate to the subject matter? Does it seem appropriate? What effect does the tone have on the speaker’s argument that “the art of losing isn’t hard to master”?

2. While it is important to remember that a poem’s author and speaker are not necessarily one and the same, biographical information about the author often provides illuminating context for a poem or other text. Elizabeth Bishop’s biography reveals she sustained significant losses throughout her life: Her father died during her infancy; her mother was institutionalized when Bishop was 5, and Bishop never saw her again; and Bishop wrote this poem after she returned to the United States following the death by suicide of her Brazilian lover. What various losses are mentioned in “One Art”? How does Bishop’s personal history open up different readings of the poem?

3. Elizabeth Bishop was not enthusiastic about confessional poetry, which gained prominence in the United States in the 1950s. Confessional poets like Bishop’s good friend Robert Lowell revealed personal, often painful details of their lives in their verse. Consider how “One Art” is both revelatory and restrained in terms of expressing Bishop’s personal history and feelings.