Geography III

Throughout the course of the poems which make up Geography III, Elizabeth Bishop demonstrates a mastery of many forms, articulating herself in verse both free and constrained in order to achieve her specific poetic ends. For instance, the variation on and appropriation of the villanelle (a rather strict poetic form) in “One Art” showcases Bishop's willingness to simultaneously utilize forms of verse and bend their rules somewhat in order to communicate an idea or feeling effectively. A typical villanelle has repeating end lines without changes in wording, but Bishop varies her syntax throughout, seeming to pay more attention to the meaning of the repeated phrases and insuring that that meaning be carried through the poem. (How that meaning might be affected by the existence of irony in the poem is a separate matter—a question of content, not diction.)
“Crusoe In England” provides an interesting example of the ways in which Bishop drew inspiration from events and circumstances in her personal life while not writing overtly or directly about those circumstances. The revealing, at the poem's conclusion, of Friday's death mirrors Bishop's loss of her own companion. The description preceding this, though— of certain items which had been of use to Crusoe during his time on the island coming into the possession of a museum and being put on display— seems to comment on the propagation of the craft of poetry itself. The speaker describes the various keepsakes in their states of dereliction and asks, “How can anyone want such things?” The items represent defense mechanisms and providers of comfort in times of personal crisis, and their exhibition is comparable to the poetry or other works of art which those personal crises give rise to. The effect is ironic, akin to asking the reader outright, “Why is it that you want to read this? The moth-eaten trousers, the makeshift parasol, the flute gone silent—these things have outlived their own usefulness. What makes you think they will protect or comfort you from beneath the glass case?”