Elisabeth Bishop
Elisabeth Bishop’s father died while she was but an infant. This is probably the
most important event in Elisabeth Bishop’s life as the result of this ill-fated
death was grief. The death of her husband cased Elisabeth Bishop’s mother to
spiral into a depressed state going in and out of mental hospital until she was
placed in one becoming fully institutionalised. This caused Elisabeth to move
from relative to relative always being but a welcomed guest in a family that
would dissolve when she was moved yet again. She was unable to feel as
though she belonged aware. This caused Elisabeth Bishop to view herself as an
outsider unable to be loved. She was so terrified of people she refused to learn
music as her degree as she would have to perform in front of people. This gave
her the sense of quiet observation and detailed noted taking by dissecting
what she saw and breaking it down so observantly detaching herself from the
situation when needed.
When Bishop describes animals she does so with such raw talent that it seems
as though it is still alive in front of you. In “The Fish” she remarks about the
intricate pattern of the fish as it is “like full blown roses stained and lost
through age”. This grounded description is also conveyed in the lines “brown
skin hung in strips like ancient wall paper” and “infested with tiny white sealice”. She is also able to describe the effect such vibrant creatures can make
describing the smell of the fishhouses as “the air smells so strongly of codfish
and herring it makes one’s nose water and one’s eyes water”