Mar
6
Praise for Simplicity
March 6, 2013 | Tagged blankc, elizabeth bishop, in the waiting room | 7 Comments
Poetry is often hard to follow and loaded with deep symbolism. Or, so I thought. After reading “In the Waiting Room” by Elizabeth Bishop, I did not feel nearly as lost as I do when I usually read poetry. Though Bishop’s poem does have an element of complexity, her simplistic writing style is not “showy” of it. Therefore Bishop is modest in writing this piece, and that is what furthered my understanding of the poem overall.
Throughout “In the Waiting Room,” Bishop uses simple, straightforward words. In this way, she can better describe her complicated thoughts and make the story she is telling more clear to her reader. It is refreshing to read something very crafted that can still be expressed simply. She is the master of “dressing down poetry.” I now understand why Bishop is known for being one of the most prominent poets of the 20th century. Her style has shown readers that poetry can be simple and still maintain a wow factor, which is quite revolutionary.
In class we discussed how the title, Aunt Consuelo’s name, and the supposed pictures in the February 1918 edition of the National Geographic each work to construct the poem. Bishop crafted every detail, whether is was true or not, and made it so that each had a specific purpose in conveying the poem’s message. Of course, this is what all poet’s do. However, Bishop accomplishes a very crafted piece without throwing it in the face of her readers. She uses keen observation of the people around her in the waiting room and of the “horrifying pictures” to give readers a vivid image of her experience. And she writes this observation without any fluff. Thus, when I read “In the Waiting Room,” I am there, with Bishop, in the waiting room.
Because the events that take place in this poem are complicated in themselves, it was smart of Bishop to write simply. In doing so, she accurately described the physical world of her experiences and wrote a piece that is accessible to readers in comparison to most poetry.
Comments
7 Comments so far
I would be interested to hear more about certain places that you felt the poem was complicated. How do you think the complications add to the meaning of the poem?
I completley agree with you that much of the power and beauty in this poem lies within its simplicity. I wonder what your opinion is on her choice of narrator. I personally think that by choosing a young child it adds to the significance of the simple tone that has deeper meaning running beneath it because to me that is somewhat a metaphor for the way in which a child experiences the world. Awesome post!
Taylor’s and Jessy’s are important responses to your good post, Caroline: how does the child perspective of the poem create the need–even a false or assumed need?–for a simple vocabulary? As you continue to read Bishop (as it sounds like you will!) I’d love to talk with you about how her vocabulary, always precise, shades into and out of what you describe as “simple.”
P.S.–Use Bishop as your personal case in point for why SIMPLE language works!
I too really liked the simplicity of the poem. The message that she is trying to get across is fairly complicated, so it is almost like a breath of fresh air that she doesn’t over do it with her diction. I also like what Taylor said about choice of narroator. Do you think she would use the same word choce had the narrator been an adult? Great post!
I also really like the simplicity of this poem. unlike some poems which can distance themselves from their reader by trying to be over the top showy and trying to be too deep, Bishop manages to make here writing seem simply while at the same time actually being quite deep. I also like Taylor’s comment on how the choice of a child narrator helps to further simplify the poem and in fact make it even better. I really like this post.
This post really brings out Bishops case of using simplicity to describe complicated events. From the title, to the occcasion, to the line break, everything seems to coordinate well with her “simple” language. The logic behind simplicity may be that it pertains to more readers in todays society. Great Post!