One Art

1. The speaker in the poem “One Art” is attempting to persuade readers (and the speaker her/himself) that loss does not constitute disaster, and that, with some practice, anyone can experience loss without losing emotional control. Write a short letter to the speaker refuting this argument. Use lines from the poem to show that the speaker is unreliable, or that the speaker’s position regarding mastery of loss is one of self-deception. In particular, note how the speaker loses control of the regimented form of the villanelle and explain how that ‘loss’ helps to undermine the speaker’s argument.

2. Elizabeth Bishop distanced herself from the confessional poetry movement that gained momentum after the 1950s, and “One Art” formally and thematically supports the idea of restraint and self-control. Using the online resource “An Introduction to Confessional Poetry," read several poems by well-known confessional poets; then re-write “One Art” as a confessional poem. (Hint: It may be useful to familiarize yourself with Bishop’s personal experiences of loss by reading a brief sketch of her life from a trusted biographical resource.)