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references items, possessions, or people that she has lost in life. In doing this the poet reminds readers
that we lose things all of the time in our everyday lives, both significant and insignificant. It also reminds
us that no matter how much we love something, it wont be around forever. When she writes, so many
things seemed filled with the intent to be lost that their loss is no disaster. (1.2-3), the writer expresses
how many things seem destined to be lost. This poem asks readers to reflect upon the losses weve
experienced in our own lives, and to stop and think for a moment about the way in which our worlds
constantly change.
In the beginning of the poem the reader may be confused with the author calling loss an art. Later in the
first stanza the reader can deduct that the author has been through many types of loss. Readers would
also be surprised that the author declares that loss is no big deal. In the second stanza the poet instructs
readers to practice losing and to accept the fluster rather than fight it. The writer also goes on to say
that time can also be lost or wasted. Throughout the third stanza the losses become more significant.
The author beings to lose names, memories of places, and memories of people. She still confidently
explains that losses arent too bad. The poet begins to get personal when the reader gets to the second
stanza. She explains that she has lost her mothers watch. Immediately the reader realizes that the
watch could either stand for the poets relationship with her mother or could even just represent her
mother. The fifth stanza becomes very confusing and strange. The poet then lists cities, rivers, and
continents as some of her losses. Cramming all of these losses into one stanza forces the audience to
wonder what the author was truly getting at. When the poem gets to the sixth stanza readers can tell
that the speaker has lost some of her optimism and confidence. She explains that loss is very hard but
very easy to master. In the last line the author shows the true difficulty of coming to terms with loss. She
forces herself to write it! She seems to barely be able to get the last word, disaster, written on the
page.
Throughout the whole poem the author utilizes imagery, personification, and symbolism. In lines 2-3 the
poet personifies the lost objects stating that they are seeming filled with the intent to be lost. The
writer uses symbolism when talking about her mothers watch, the cities, rivers, and continents. Her
mothers watch could also stand for the relationship that has been lost between her mother and she
due to her mothers passing. The cities could represent past experiences linked to those cities. The same
could be said for the rivers and the continent. She was not physically losing the city. She was just losing
In the last stanza of the poem Elizabeth also uses imagery very effectively. She evokes actual images in
the readers mind when she writes about the watch, cities, rivers, and continent. She also give the
reader a mental image of her saying, Even losing you in a joking voice. When Bishop includes (write
it!) in her poem it shows the reader that the poet has completely broken down and has realized how
difficult loss is. It also shows that there was a break in the poets state of mind. She was no longer
confident and optimistic. The poets purpose with this poem was to show the reader how transient the