The Map

Author: Elizabeth Bishop Back Born: 1911 Died: 1979

Type of Poe : !yric

The Poe

"The Map" is a descripti#e poe di#ided into three stanzas$ The first and last are ei%ht&line stanzas 'ith repeated Petrarchan rhy e sche es (abbacddc)* 'hile the lon%er central stanza is 'ritten in free #erse$

+n "The Map*" Elizabeth Bishop records her thou%hts on the nature of a ap,s relationship to the real 'orld$ + plicitly* the poe asks 'hy aps fascinate people so uch$ The poet su%%ests that the hu an fascination 'ith s all& scale representations of land and 'ater has to do 'ith the i a%ined 'orlds aps can offer* the i a%es of far&off people and places that aps can brin% to ind$ More precisely* aps e-cite the #ie'er,s i a%ination$ "The Map" celebrates the ap aker,s (or poet,s) po'er to create illusion and fantasy as 'ell as ne' 'ays of lookin% at 'hat is real$

The poe be%ins 'ith shapes and colors&&'hat ost people first notice about aps$ .or e-a ple* land is "shado'ed %reen*" and it "lies in 'ater*" 'hich is blue$ /ere* ho'e#er* all certainty ends* and a series of pro#ocati#e but unans'ered 0uestions be%ins$ The poet sees "1hado's*" not sure if they are "shallo's$" Also uncertain is 'hether the line on the paper indicates the land,s ed%es or "lon% sea&'eeded led%es$"

2n first lookin% at the ap* the poet sees 'ater surroundin% and supportin% land$ The second half of the first stanza* ho'e#er* su%%ests a relationship bet'een the land and the sea that is ysterious and une-pected$ The land is acti#e&&it see s to lean* lift* and dra' the 'ater around itself$ The poet asks* "is the land tu%%in% at the sea fro under3" Because these 0uestions %o unans'ered* the reader be%ins to understand that not e#eryone interprets a ap the sa e 'ay$

+n the lon% central stanza* the ap recei#es the close inspection for 'hich Bishop,s poetry is 'ell kno'n$ 4e'foundland (perhaps "ne' found land") su%%ests that the i a%ination can create ne' territory* ne' realities$ +n !abrador* "yello'* 'here the oony Eski o5 has oiled it*" the drea er* the " oony" i a%iner* paints the land to suit her #ision of it$ 1trokin% the lo#ely bays "under a %lass as if they 'ere e-pected to blosso " su%%ests the ap,s a%ical 0uality as 'ell as its aesthetic beauty$ Perhaps "blosso " su%%ests ho' one,s e-pectations %ro' 'hile studyin% a ap$

The poet also inspects the carefully printed na es* 'hich "run out to sea" and "cross the nei%hborin% ountains$" The 6u-taposition of the artificial (printed na es) 'ith the "real" (sea and ountains) re inds the reader that the ap is a an& ade ob6ect$ .or the poet* it is a representation by 'hich to co pare reality 'ith perception$ 1tanza 7 ends 'ith a playful i a%e: The peninsulas are "thu b and fin%er5 $$$ feelin% for the s oothness of yard& %oods$" The poet see s to prefer her fanciful perception to the real places the ap represents$ This i a%e also looks a%ain at the relationship of land to 'ater$

E-a inin% that relationship further* the poet su%%ests in stanza 8 that the "'a#es, o'n confor ation" is 'hat deter ines the shape of the land* rather than the land,s outlines deter inin% ho' far the 'ater lies$ The poet sees 4or'ay runnin% south in the shape of a hare* and then* %ettin% back to the art of carto%raphy* casually 'onders* "Are they assi%ned* or can the countries pick their colors3" These three obser#ations su%%est 0uestions of perspecti#e$ .or e-a ple* ho' one sees an ob6ect&&such as this ap&&is a #ery personal e-perience$ The poet,s (unre#ealed) conclusions are her o'n9 there are not definiti#e ans'ers* no "fa#orites$"

That is 'hy the carto%rapher,s representations and use of tools* records* and perceptions are "More delicate than the historians,$" The historian atte pts to deal 'ith facts* and chronolo%ies of e#ents* ob6ecti#ely$ Althou%h she dares not distort truth* the ap aker* unlike the historian* deals 'ith possibilities i a%inati#ely* for the artist celebrates the notion that to be co pletely ob6ecti#e is i possible$

.or s and De#ices

!ike any of Bishop,s poe s* "The Map" e-e plifies her astery of or%anic for $ The poe ,s structure %ro's out of and also contributes to its e-pression$ The rhy ed stanzas (1 and 8) reflect precision* balance* and ele%ance&&they ha#e a life of their o'n* e-actly as the ap li#es its life "unperturbed*" e-istin% "under a %lass*" independent of the #ie'er,s scrutiny$ The controlled pace of these stanzas helps to create the tone of careful e-ploration and tentati#e su%%estion that the poet,s obser#ations con#ey* especially in the first stanza$

The ap is* further ore* an inani ate ob6ect ade ani ate by the personification of land and sea$ .or e-a ple* "the land lean:s; do'n" and lifts and tu%s* the 'aters "lend*" and the profiles of land in#esti%ate$ The rhy ed stanzas are also the 0uestion stanzas* in 'hich the poet asks (and ne#er ans'ers) 0uestions about 'hat she sees and i a%ines in the ap$ These unans'ered 0uestions shape the poe * propel it for'ard* and fra e it 'ith a tone of uncertain yet deter ined speculation$

The lon%* unrhy ed stanza is a close description that see s to start at the top and o#e south'ard* as if the poet 'ere runnin% her fin%ers do'n alon% the ap,s colored lines$ A runnin% co entary of etaphors ani ates and finally personifies the peninsulas as 'o en$ Bishop uses a #ery natural 'ord order* the sa e order of 'ords one 'ould use in a %ood sentence$ This techni0ue 'elco es the reader into the poe * 'hich reads as if the narrator 'ere 'onderin% aloud$ The lon%* central stanza also uses first&person plural ("'e")* as if to dra' the reader further and ore inti ately into the poet,s speculation on 'hat a ap really is and on its ulti ate purpose$

+n the first stanza* the #erbs are #ery acti#e9 the land leans* lifts* and tu%s$ +n contrast* stanza 7 be%ins 'ith land that "lies flat and still$" The follo'in% #erbs in the sa e stanza reflect deter ined* if cautious* otion: "oiled*" "blosso *" "run*" "cross*" and "take$" These #erbs indicate that the poet,s e-ploration in this stanza is painstakin% and precise9 she is 'ell a'are that details risk bein% o#erlooked "'hen e otion too far e-ceeds its cause$"

1tanza 8 %athers to%ether 'hat the poet has learned about the ap$ 1he looks once ore at the relationship of land to 'ater (a recurrin% puzzle)* and she notes other details: hare&shaped 4or'ay and the "profiles" of land that in#esti%ate the sea$ <et this final stanza,s ain effect is to turn the #ie'er,s attention a'ay fro the ap and in'ard* for reflection$ The final 0uestion&&"can the countries pick their colors3"&&acco plishes this shift in perspecti#e because it re inds the reader that 'hoe#er dre' the ap ade artistic (i a%inati#e) decisions in its e-ecution$ +t also introduces the final the atic state ent* the poe ,s puzzlin% last line$

The es and Meanin%s

The si plicity of the title pro ises a strai%htfor'ard description of an ob6ect&& a real ap&&'hich the poet deli#ers 'ith fine&tuned and surprisin% nuances$ 2ne is soon a'are* ho'e#er* that the description is both ob6ecti#e and e ble atic$ That is* a real ap is #ery carefully and faithfully described* but the ap is also a sy bol capable of su%%estin% eanin%s or connections beyond itself$

.or one thin%* the ap is an e ble of i a%inati#e pro ise$ +t i%ht sho' its reader ho' to %et to a specific place* or it i%ht lead to hidden treasure$ Because the i a%es on aps are by definition constructions of the ind* perhaps the ap represents the ind atte ptin% to plot a landscape so that it can find its 'ay$

By placin% "The Map" first in both 4orth = 1outh (19>?) and The @o plete

Poe s (19?9)* Bishop also su%%ested that "The Map" ay lead to a 'ay of understandin% her 'ork* especially her sense of ho' an "ob6ecti#e" 'ork of art ay e body an artist,s sub6ecti#e e-perience$ As early as the second line of the poe * for e-a ple* Bishop,s sub6ecti#e kind of seein% beco es apparent$ /er fanciful i a%es&&the "clean ca%e for in#isible fish" and "4or'ay,s hare"&&su%%est that 'hat one sees depends on ho' one looks or uses her i a%ination$

As 'ith the e#er&chan%in% relationship bet'een land and 'ater* the concept of sub6ecti#e perception arises often$ The poet,s uni0ue and often 'hi sical account of the ap re#eals her uni0ueness of #ision&&her 'ay of e-periencin% the 'orld and of e-pressin% that e-perience$ Ahile the 0uestions in stanza 1 first introduce the idea that indi#idual perspecti#es can differ* the lines in stanza 7 su%%est that indi#idual perspecti#es&&and not the e-ternal 'orld itself&& ay in fact deter ine 'hat is real$

+n "The Map*" Bishop is in fact e-plorin% the i a%ination rather than the landscape$ The poe i%ht e#en be read as a ru ination on the #alue or status of poetry$ "The Map" is not about actual %eo%raphy but about refusin% to standardize the i a%es each person pro6ects onto a place$ Bishop is tryin% to re#i#e and rene' si%ht* to ake i a%es ne'$

E-pressin% the i a%ination,s o'n 'ay of seein%* 'hile retainin% one,s sense of the real 'orld* is the challen%e the artist accepts and stru%%les 'ith$ The 0uestion of 'hether e pirical truth or i a%inati#e truth is ore #aluable in hu ankind,s efforts to chart the 'orld around it is unans'erable$ Probably* both perceptions are re0uired$ The poet* ho'e#er* uses ore delicate* ore po'erful colors to paint the facts 'ith a sharper and subtler stroke9 they %i#e reality a beauty and for that the historians, literal black&and&'hite representations cannot approach$ The ap& aker,s i a%es are fra%ile* yet keen and subtle* the results of a particular i a%ination shapin% the real$ That e-pression&&the delicate " ap& akers, colors"&&co prises the poet,s #aried* rich* and peculiar 'ays of seein%$

@ross Beferences

@o plete Poe s* 1977&1979* The (Ao en,s !iterature)

Man&Moth* The (Poetry)

Moose* The (Poetry)

4orth and 1outh (Masterplots @lassics)

Cnbelie#er* The (Poetry)

Author Bio%raphy