20 pages • 40 minutes read
Sestina
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Further Reading & Resources
Related Poems
“The Armadillo” by Elizabeth Bishop (1957)
“The Armadillo,” along with “Sestina,” is Bishop’s most recognized and most anthologized poem. It uses vivid recreation of animals terrified by the elaborate fireworks celebrating a Brazilian holiday to critique humanity’s terrifying nearness to apocalyptic destruction posed by nuclear armaments. Like “Sestina,” the poem features Bishop’s chiseled lines and her refusal to indulge in messy emotions, letting the vivid detailing convey the darkest emotions.
“Skunk Hour” by Robert Lowell (1959)
Because of Lowell’s friendship with Bishop, Lowell’s poem can be used to define how completely Bishop refused to indulge in the emotional excess typical of Confessional poets such as Lowell. Here, Lowell records his own experience in first person of a hellish insomniac night when, as he watches skunks poke around a garbage can, he ponders his emotional distress, loneliness, fragile mental state, and suicidal ideation.
“The Mind Is an Enchanting Thing” by Marianne Moore (1943)
The literary friendship between Moore and Bishop became, over more than three decades, a mentor/protégé relationship. This exquisite Moore poem not only thematically suggests Bishop’s faith in the intellectual apprehension of difficult emotions but also reveals the two poets’ fascination with the carefully crafted poetic line.
Further Literary Resources
“Marianne Moore and Elizabeth Bishop: Friendship and Influence” by Bonnie Costello (1984)
Using the dynamic of mother and daughter, Costello explores critical parallels between Moore and Bishop. The article centers on their refusal to kowtow to market appeal and to pursue the diligent craftmanship of prosody. The article also highlights shared themes, most notably the celebration of intellectual vigor over emotional excess.
“Life Forms: Elizabeth Bishop’s ‘Sestina’ and DNA Structure” by Janine Rogers (2010)
This article reflects on genetics theory to open up “Sestina” to new levels of interpretation. Rogers uses the concept of family secrets—how the grandmother and the child are related but do not open up about what troubles their afternoon tea. Using DNA as thematic model, the article explores how the poem braids secrets and revelation.
“Analyzing Elizabeth Bishop’s Deep ‘Sestina’” by Bonnie Liu (2016)
A more recent publication, this article by Liu contains much of the background work done on Bishop’s poem and its tension between what is said and what is not said. The article suggests that Bishop’s aesthetic power—her use of the complicated sestina form—helps reveal rather than marginalize the emotional depth of the two characters.
Listen to the Poem
From the Talking Poetry series available on YouTube, this reading reflects Bishop’s careful prosody, gives emphasis to her use of enjambment, and alters the metrical pattern just enough to capture the lonely feeling of the grandmother and the emerging joy of the child’s discovery of art. The reading is illustrated by images of the steady rain, a pensive grandmother, an almanac suspended on a hook, and a child’s crayon drawing.
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By Elizabeth Bishop
