"Sestina"

David Taaffe

Jernigan                     

English AP

March 29, 2011

“Sestina”

            In this poem, recurring images, objects, and characters stand out to me the most. The grandmother, the child, the almanac and the “marvel stove” I find most memorable. I found it exceedingly difficult to decode this poem and figure out what these images symbolize.

            Elizabeth Bishop, the authoress (a word I literally just discovered), of this poem utilizes wheel barrows full of personification. “The iron kettle sings.” The almanac speaks more than once in this poem (for some reason this reminds of The Brave Little Toaster). She utilizes tears to personify multiple objects.

            The grandmother definitely experiences an inner struggle in this masterful sestina. She tries “to hide her tears,” drinks “a cup full of dark brown tears,” and finds the house to be chilly. Tears seem to define the grandmother. Bishop characterizes her as a troubled being. But the grandmother does not want the innocent child to realize that her beloved grandmother struggles, so the grandmother puts up a front to make it seem like she is doing much better than she actually is.                    

            Bishop also appeals to the aesthetic desires of the reader through the employment of alliteration: “talking to hide her tears,” “time for tea,” “hovers half,” “she shivers,” etc. Devout readers of poetry, like myself, always appreciate authors and authoresses like Bishop who look for the readers.