Theme Of One Art By Elizabeth Bishop

In the poem “One Art” by Elizabeth Bishop, she describes the process of attempting to lose the memories of once happy moments. Even though many may conceive the concept of love as something that will last forever, it is actually something that will expire as time goes by; after love expires, many seek ways to move on from their once happy life. The poem is a way for Bishop to vent out her feelings of despair since, throughout her life, she never received any parental love from her parents due to her father’s death, and her mother’s mental illnesses; henceforth, causing her to feel disconnected or so, wanting to lose these hardships in her life. Through the use of desperate repetition, meaningful symbolism, and a naive tone, Elizabeth Bishop portrays how people view losing memories as the cure for their depression, which is proven false due to people only deceiving themselves into thinking that they are alright. Throughout the poem, the narrator …show more content…
People do not know how to deal with the falling out of relationships, many try to convince themselves that they are alright. Forgetting all these memories of their relationships will be easy, and will result in them attaining a happy life. Consequently, Bishop greatly contradicts this idea by portraying the narrator in the poem as someone who is going through great amounts of stress due to the hardships created by the loss of their once close relationship. It destroys the idea that people can easily forget the memories that make them who they are in present day. Bishop does this through the use of desperate repetition, purposeful symbolism, and an ignorant tone, Elizabeth Bishop accurately shows how people view forgetting moments as the cure for their despair, which is proven inaccurate due to people only deceiving themselves into thinking that they are