Topic > An Art of Elizabeth Bishop: How the Author Uses Perspective and Syntax

Timed RewritingMissing something is seemingly disastrous. Modern poet Elizabeth Bishop uses syntax and perspectivism in "One Art" to portray a tone of acceptance and discontent towards loss to convey that there are some feelings of deprivation that are simply invincible. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Throughout the poem, Bishop uses an a and b rhyme scheme except in the fourth and sixth stanzas. Both of these pattern-breaking verses contain personal instances and thoughts. This strategy helps Bishop create his false sense of acceptance between lines 1-15. He assures the audience that everything will be okay if we “embrace the confusion,” as this will defeat our feelings of loss. Unfortunately, in the fourth verse, he reluctantly makes a negative change in his tone. With a simple “And look!” readers may notice that the experiences listed become more personal for Bishop. However, his honest stance does not become fully apparent until the sixth verse where Bishop wavers in his true feelings. From lines 16-19 not only is there a completely different rhyme scheme, but it is a different quatrain from the previous triplets. This effect makes this verse stand out and basically tells us that this is the truth and that this discontent is his true emotion towards this topic. Bishop reveals that she "will not have lied" not only to the reader but also to herself. He still tries to continue his charade by forcing himself to "Write it down!" Which inevitably reveals his inability to deal with the loss. He also eventually alters his diction to match his honest attitude by saying "The art of losing isn't too hard to master" instead of the consistent "The art of losing isn't hard to master." Bishop reveals that despite what he previously stated, this action is actually not "too difficult", but still extremely difficult to pull off. Bishop takes advantage of the poem's perspectivism to, in a sense, ask readers to bear the loss. He urges his audience to "lose something every day" to convince us that a loss is not the worst misfortune that could happen. However, this command is overly optimistic and full of false hope. What sane person would repeatedly and deliberately lose something just to overcome that negative feeling? His mistake suggests a misguided attitude of acceptance. As Bishop moves from the second to the first perspective, his losses become steadily larger and less general. As she writes about these events she wavers from her original opinion because, gradually, she realizes that she has not overcome her losses alone. When Bishop notes his loss, arguably the most catastrophic, “losing you,” he almost finally collapses from his argument and forces himself to finish this poem of false feelings. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom EssayNo matter how one may express it, loss is a terrible tragedy. Although this was not his original intention, Bishop concluded with this theme. Nothing is as easy as it seems.