One Art by Elizabeth Bishop: Meaning & Easy Explanation

Cover Image Featuring Elizabeth Bishop for the analysis of the poem One Art

The feeling of loss is a universal one. Every human who has loved something has felt the pain and effects of loss. But in the poem “One Art,” Elizabeth Bishops has a very different perspective on loss. 

She says that there is an art that one can master to cope with the pain of loss. She says that the art of losing is something one can master, and it is not too difficult as well. 

Let’s take a look at the poem, its literal translation, analysis, and philosophical content of the poem. 

One Art by Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn’t hard to master;
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.

—Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident
the art of losing’s not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

Literal Translation

We know that sometimes understanding the poem can be difficult as the poet tends to wrap the actual meaning in often beautiful garbs. The poem gets complicated and the analysis gets long. 

So to make it easier and faster for you to understand the poem, here is the literal translation of the poem “One Art” by Elizabeth Bishop. 

One can practice the art of losing without experiencing much pain

There are some things that are so created to be lost at one point

It is destiny to lose them, hence do not consider losing them a “disaster.”

To learn the art of losing, try losing something every day

Lose your door keys, or sometimes in doing something not productive

Practice by losing small things so that you can master the art of losing

Slowly start losing the biggest things, and more often

Forget about the places you were about to travel

Forget about the names you have known

Losing all these things would not bring any disaster. 

I lost my mother’s watch, then I lost my houses

But I managed to survive it because the art of losing is not hard to master. 

I have lost two cities where I used to live

I have lost vast lands, rivers, and a continent

I do miss them, but it was not a disaster. 

Even losing you, and your joking voice 

I should not have lied. It is obvious that the art of losing 

is not too hard to master, even though it may look like a disaster. 

Meaning and Analysis

One Art is a poem that focuses on just one thing; the art of losing something or someone. Losing something is one of the most difficult things, perhaps the most difficult thing one can do. 

But the poet Elizabeth Bishop says that no matter what people say, the art of losing someone is not too difficult to master. In fact, with practice, you can master it very soon and very easily. 

Even though the literal translation of the poem has made every life very clear in terms of the meaning, an analysis is required to dive deeper into the message and theme of the poem. Let’s analyze the poem stanza by stanza. 

The art of losing isn’t hard to master;

so many things seem filled with the intent

to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

The first paragraph is fairly simple to understand as it says that the art of losing something is not hard to learn and master. But the second line holds an important meaning about the poem. 

“So many things seem filled with the intent to be lost” is a way the poet says that almost everything and everyone we have in our lives is bound to be lost someday. It is in their intent, their nature to be lost. 

Since it is destiny that they will be lost one day, one should not consider their loss to be a disaster. How can something be a disaster when we know it is about to happen? 

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster

of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.

The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

The second stanza is about learning to master the art of losing. The poet says to start with losing something small every day.

Lost something like the door keys or waste an hour doing something that you do not need to do. 

Get used to the irritation, and the mild anger and pain that comes with losing something that we have in abundance. This practice will help you get used to the pain of loss. 

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:

places, and names, and where it was you meant

to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

As you get used to losing smaller things and get accustomed to the irritation and fluster, start losing bigger things, and more frequently. Forget things that hold more significance in your life. 

Forget the names of a few people, or places where you wanted to travel. Get used to the art of losing something more important. These losses will not bring any disaster in your life. 

I lost my mother’s watch. And look! my last, or

next-to-last, of three loved houses went.

The art of losing isn’t hard to master.

The fourth stanza is about an anecdote wherein the poet shares something that she lost. It is important to note that she starts with something very simple like her mother’s watch.

While simple, this watch held a lot of significance to her. 

NOTE: Elizabeth Bishop’s mother suffered from mental illness and was institutionalized when she was very young. Hence, her mother’s watch is something very important to her. 

Then she says that apart from losing something that held emotional significance, she also lost something that held both emotional and monetary value. She lost her house as well. But she knows the art of losing. 

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,

some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.

I miss them, but it wasn’t a disaster.

The poet says that she lost two cities dear to her. Here, losing means that she moved away from these cities. But that’s not all. She says that she has lost vaster realms, rivers, and a continent. 

She does miss them but she still would not consider them to be a disaster because losing them was meant to be. It was going to happen one day, and it did happen, just as expected. 

—Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture

I love) I shan’t have lied. It’s evident

the art of losing’s not too hard to master

though it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.

The final stanza is the most important part of this poem when the poet comes to the loss of losing a loved one.

 We can manage losing things that are important to us, but losing a person is a pain that cannot be paralleled. 

Bishop says that she lied to her partner and that perhaps she won’t be able to lose them, but in reality, losing them is also not too difficult as she has mastered the art of losing.

Losing the joking voice of her partner is also not difficult. 

The final two lines show that it is very difficult for Bishop to consider losing this person as not a disaster as she tells herself quite emphatically to write it down that losing the person was not a disaster.

Theme and Message

There are three core themes of the poem “One Art” and the way Bishop has managed to extract the philosophy and mold it into a beautiful shape with this poem is quite commendable. 

The three core themes of this poem are:

  • The pain of loss
  • The inevitable nature of loss
  • Coping with loss

The poet says that after learning just one art of managing the effects of loss on the mind and heart, one can manage so many things that come with it. By keeping a few things in mind, one can master the art of losing. 

There will always be some degree of pain associated with any loss. Depending on the thing or the person lost, you will always feel pain. Loss of anything is a bringer of pain. 

But it can be managed and even lessened by knowing the inevitable nature of loss. It is not a disaster to lose something or someone as everything is bound to be lost. Even the very bodies we have will be lost one day. 

With this mindset, one can master the art of losing. By practicing loss on a small scale and gradually moving up to a more serious loss, one can take the effects and impacts of losing something or someone important. 

Literary Devices

Repetition

Elizabeth Bishop used repetition very brilliantly to create emphasis on the core message of the poem. Notice how the line “the art of losing is not hard to master ” has been repeated multiple times in different stanzas. 

Rhyme Scheme and Form

The rhyming scheme of the poem is ABA or ABAA. The form of the poem is a villanelle with every stanza having three lines except the last one with four lines.

Alliteration

Alliteration has been used in these lines:

to be lost that their loss is no disaster.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster

Enjambment 

Here is an example of enjambment in the poem:

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster

of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.

Personification

In the line “so many things seem filled with the intent to be lost that their loss is no disaster,” the poet says that “things” have an “intent,” which personifies them. 

Know the Poet 

Elizabeth Bishop was an American poet who lived from 1911 to 1979. She is considered one of the most important poets of the 20th century and was known for her precise, descriptive style and her ability to find beauty in the mundane.

Bishop’s poetry often dealt with themes of loss, identity, and the search for meaning in life.

She published her first book of poetry, “North & South,” in 1946, which was followed by several other collections, including “Questions of Travel” and “Geography III.”

In addition to poetry, Bishop also wrote prose, including the Pulitzer Prize-winning memoir “One Art.”

Bishop’s life was marked by personal struggles, including the loss of her parents at a young age, mental health issues, and a tumultuous love life.

However, she found solace in her writing, and her poetry continues to inspire and move readers today.

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