Bishop's Geograpy III

Q.For your blog entry on Elizabeth Bishop, I'd like you to reflect on the title of her book--Geography III. How do you think the title relates to the poems we discussed, and why does she choose for the book's epigraph the quotation from "First Lessons in Geography"? Finally, I'd also like you to talk a little bit about your experience of reading Bishop's poetry--good or bad.

A.I think that the title of her book permeates through every poem. In the poem 'In the Waiting Room', I don't think that it is a coincidence that the magazine being observed is a National Geographic. The poem focuses on a foreign group of people who seem strange to Bishop, who is a six year old. However, the ultimate shock comes to Bishop when she realizes that in this far off geographic location these strange people are living at the same date that she is living. On page seven, the line says "The War was on". This is more than likely an allusion to World War I, however it may also be a realization that the war is going on in Europe at the same as these people in the National Geographic are living. The Geography of these things don't separate them from Bishop because they are happening at the same time.

In the poem 'The Moose', most of the poem is spent describing some narrow provinces. Bishop describes rivers, lavender rich mud, gravelly roads, sugar maples, and cabbage roses. All of these things are associated with geography: soil, vegetation, population, and land use. The landscape and scenery during this bus ride helps the passengers escape to another place. The actual moose, an animal which is only found in certain Geographic locations is the big finale of that escape. However, they are quickly brought back to reality with the smell of gasoline, which is associated with a city, which is the geography that the pleasant bus ride let them escape from.

In 'Poem', the whole poem is describing a picture. This is a painting of some unknown location in which is said to be Nova Scotia. In fact, every poem we've read has to do with a particular place. Even in 'One Art' on page forty, Bishop says "I lost two cities, lovely ones."

I think Bishop uses the quotation from "First Lessons in Geography" to give an idea of the overall themes in her poetry. It makes her poems easier to read.

I had an awesome experience in reading these poems. I love the how descriptive Bishop's poems are. I appreciate nature, which is a huge part of these poems. I'll definitely finish all of the poems on my own.