‘92
Writing about Poetr : ATom Inquiry to Final Iper
Do any objects. persons, places, events, or actions have allegoriGil or
symbolic meanings? What other details in the poem support your in
retation?
13 Is T%py used? Are thtri any examples of situ-irional irony serhil
irony ( lramatic irons Is undt.rst stemcnt oi p ii idix used’
i4 ‘X hat is thionr of the poim’ Is the tone ionsistlnt?
55. Does the poeI se onomatopoeia, assonance, consonance, iliter
anon’ How do th6sg sounds affect you
i6 What sounds are rrearrd’ If then ar rhvmts sshat4’their cfftct’
Do they seem forced or- arural? Is there a rhvmtheme? Do the
rhymes contributi to the Yot m 5 mraninb’
57 Do the liflrs have a regular meter? What is Øst predominant meter?
Are ilwri sieniflc mt variinons Dots the rfivthm seem appropriit
for thi poim S tont
18 Does the poun s form its ocrall srftcturt —follow an establishcd
pattcrn’ Do ou think the torm a suitable v hide for thc poem s
meaning and effects?
19 Is th language of th poenitntcnsr md conientrated’ Do you think
t warrants more than oqir two close readings?
20 Did you Injoy the p?em? What specifically pIease1 or displeased
you -ibout what waj4xpressed and how it was expressed,?
Is tht rt a pareicur critical approach that sterns cspeciarly appropri
21
ate for this p9ern? (See ( hapn r 3 C ritiril Strategies for Reading
de
22 How miglubio,raphrcal information about thc author hclp
termine/e poem s central concerns?
How rfight historical information about the porm piovidi. a useful23
context for interprcratIon
24. Jo what extent do your own experiences, values, beliefs, and assump
/tions inform your interpretation?
/ Whir kinds of ividenci from the poem are you focusing on to sup
port your interpretation? Does your interpretation leave out any im
portant elements that might undercut or qualify your interpretation?
26. Given that there are a variety of ways to interpret the poem, which
one seems the most useful to you?
-n:
ELIZABETH BISHOP
(I9II-1’9)
1965
Manners
for a
Child of1918
My grandfather said to me
as we sat on the wagon seat,
“Be sure to remember to always
Explore
contexts for Elizabeth
tiishop and approaches
speak to everyone you meet.”
meyerlit.
corn!
I
A Sample Close Reading
We met a stranger on fhot.
My grandfather’s whip tapped his hat,
“Good day, sir. Good day. A fine day.”
And I said it and bowed where I sat.
Then we overtook a boy we knew
with his big pet crow on his shoulder.
“Always offer everyc ne a ride;
don’t forget that when you get older,”
my grandfather said, So Willy
climbed up with us, but the crow
gave a “Caw!” and flew off. I was worried,
How would he know where to go?
But he flew a little way at a time
from fence post to fence post, ahead;
and when Willy whistled he answered.
“A fine bird,” my grandfather said,
fr
3trmr,nI
R
“and he’s well brought up. See, he answers
nicely when he’s spoken to.
Man or beast, that’s good manners.
Be sure that you both always do.”
When automobiles went by,
the dust hid the people’s faces,
but we shouted “Good day! Good day!
Pine day!” at the top of our voices,
When we came to Hustler Hill,
he said that the mare was tired,
so we all got down and walked,
as our good manners required.
30
A SAMPLE CLOSE KEADING
An Annotated Version of “Manners”
The following annotations represent insights about the relationship of
various elements at work in the poem gleaned only after several close
readings. Don’t expect to be able to produce these kinds of interpretive
notes on a first reading because such perceptions will not be apparent
until you’ve read the poem and then gone back to the beginning to dis
cover how each word, line, and stanza contributes to the overall effect.
Writing your responses in the margins of the page can be a useful means
of recording your impressions as well as discovering new insights as you
read the text closely.
794
1
Writing about Ietr: From Inqui,y to final Paper
ELIZABETH BIsHoP (I911—Jj)
Tale refers to what
s socially correct,
polite and/c,r decent
behavior.
------
1965
Juan ners
Jbr a Child of 1918
WWl ended in 9i
and denotes a shift
in values and
manners that often
follows rapid tocil
changes brought
about by war.
Wagon seat
suggests a simpler
past as does
simple language
and informal
diction cif the
child speaker.
-
My grandfather said to me
as we sat on the wagon seat,
“Be sure to remember to always
--
-
speak to everyone you meet.”
We met a stranger on foot.
My grandfather’s whip tapped his hat.
-
Grandfather
seems kind, but he
also carries a whip
chat reinforces his
authoritative
voice.
s
“Good day, sir. Good day, A fine day.”
And I said it and bowed where I sat.
Idea that values
“always” transcend 4
time is emphasized
by the grandfather’s
urging:”don’t
‘rhei we overtook a boy we knew
with his big pet crow on his shoulder,
NN
“Always offer everyone a ride’
don’t forget that when you get older,”
forget.
‘N4
my grandfather said. So Willy
climbed up with us, but the crow
“Mygrandfather”
repeated friur times
in first five stanzas,
reflects the child’s
affection and a sense
of belonging in his
world. The crow,
however, worries the
child and indicates
an uncertain future.
gave a “Caw!” and flew off. I was worried.
How would he know where to go?
Predictable
quatrains and
abc& rhyme
scheme
throughout the
poem take the
worry out of
where they and
the crow— are
headed.
But he flew a little way at a time
from fence post to fence post, ahead;
and when Willy whistled he answered.
“A fine bird,” my grandfather said,
N
“and he’s well brought up. See, he answers
nicely when he’s spoken to.
Third time the
grandfather says
“always.” This and
the inverted syntax
of line 24 call
attention, again,
to idea that good
manners are forever
important.
—
20
/
/
Man or beast, that’s good manners.
Be sure that you both always do.”/
When automobiles went by,
the dust hid the people’s faces,
/7
25
The modern
/ symbolic automobile races by
raising dust that
obscures every
one’s vision and
fortes them to
shout. Rhymes in
lines 26 and 28 are
off (unlike all the
other rhymes> just
enough to suggest
the dissonant
future that will
supersede the
calm wagon ride.
______________________________
A Sample Student Analysis
795
but we shouted Good day’ Good day’
I mt. day’ at tin, top of our voices
the horse like the
simple past it sym
When wi, came to Hustler Hill
bolizes is
weakened by the
hustle of modern
°
manners prevail
internalized from
the grandfather
values
he said that the mare was tired
so we all got down and walkcd
as our good rnanncrs rrquircd
MORE HELP WJTH
CLOSE READING
W
—
Close readings of Andrew
Marvell s To His Coy
Mistress Elizabeth Bishop s
The Fish and Theodore
Roethke s My Papa s Waltz
are available at The Student
Center flu, The Bedford
Wvk,ome
fhe Br hot I hut ,duuciuui
to
0
yviur SiuidO,fl Center
ow,,
‘.
Introduction to Literature
(www bedfordstmartins corn/
meyerhit) As you explore each
poem highlighted sections
are annotated with critical
interpretations and
explanations of literary
elements at work
“,,,,,
dOtunR
•
at
I
a
I
I
A SAMPLE STUDENT ANALYSiS
Memory in Elizabeth Bishop’s “Manners”
The following sample paper on Elizabeth Bishop’s Manners was written
in response to an assignment that called for a 750 word discussion of the
ways in which at least five of the following elements work to develop and
reinforce the poem s themes
diction and tone
images
figures of speech
symbols
irony
sound and rhyme
rhythm and meter
form
speaker
setting and situation
In her paper, Debra Epstein discusses the ways in which a number of these ci
ements contribute to what she sees as a central theme of Manners the loss
of a way of life that Bishop associates with the end of World War I Not all of
p
Writing about Poe: From Jnquiiy to Final Iper
796
the elements of poetry are covered equally in Epstei&s paper because some,
such as the speaker and setting, are more important to her argument than
others. Notice how rather than merely listing each of the
elements, Epstein mentions them in her discussion as she
Reards the
in tins chapter at
needs to in order to develop the thesis that she clearly and ports
bedic,rdsrmarnns.cooi/
meyerlit.
succinctly expresses in her opening paragraph.
Epstein 1
Debra Epstein
Professor Brown
English 210
I May 2009
Memory in Elizabeth Bishop’s “Manners”
Thesis
The subject of Elizabeth Bishop’s “Mariners” has to do with behaving well,
but the theme of the poem has more to do with a way of life than with
of poem.
etiquette. The poem suggests that modern society has lost something
important—a friendly openness, a generosity of spirit, a sense of decency
Statement of
and consideration—in its race toward progress. Although the narrative is
simply told, Bishop enriches this poem about manners by developing an
discussed in
implicit theme through her subtle use of such elements of poetry as speaker,
setting, rhyme, meter, symbol, and images.
The dedication suggests that the speaker is “a Child of 1918’S who
Summary of
arratine and
nt?dULtion
of elements.
accompanies his or her grandfather on a wagon ride and who is urged to
practice good manners by greeting people, offering everyone a ride, and
speaking when spoken to by anyone. During the ride they say hello to a
stranger, give a ride to a boy with a pet crow, shout greetings to a passing
automobile, and get down from the wagon when they reach a hill because the
horse is tired. They walk because “good manners required” (line 32) such
consideration, even for a horse. This summary indicates what goes on in the
poem but not its significance. That requires a closer look at some of the
poem’s elements.
Analysis of
speaker in
Given the speaker’s simple language (there are no metaphors or similes
and only a few words out of thirty-two lines are longer than two syllables), it
seems likely that he or she is a fairly young child, rather than an adult
A Sample Student A,ralsis
797
Epstein 2
reminiscing. (ft is interesting to note that Bishop herself, thouqh not identi
cal with the speaker, would have been seven in 1918.) Because the speaker is
a young child who uses simple diction, Bishop has to show us the ride’s
significance indirectly rather than having the speaker explicitly state it.
The setting for the speaker’s narrative is important because 1918 was
the year World War I ended, and it marked the beginning of a new era of
Analysis of
poem’s
ttg.
technology that was the result of rapid industrialization during the war.
Horses and wagons would soon be put out to pasture. The grandfather’s
manners emphasize a time gone by; the child must be told to “remember”
what the grandfather says because he or she will take that advice into a new
and very different world.
The grandfather’s world of the horse and wagon is uncomplicated, and
this is reflected in both the simple quatrains that move predictably along in
an abcb rhyme scheme and the frequent anapestic meter (as wii sat on tte
-
wagon [2]) that pulls the lines rapidly and lightly. The one moment Bishop
Analysis of
rhyme scheme
and meter,
breaks the set rhyme scheme is in the seventh stanza when the automobile
(the single four-syllable word in the poem) rushes by in a cloud of dust so
that people cannot see or hear each other. The only off rhymes in the
poem—”faces” (26) and “voices” (28)—are also in this stanza, which sug
gests that the automobile and the people in it are somehow off or out of sync
with what goes on in the other stanzas. The automobile is a symbol of a way
Analysis of
symbols.
of life in which people—their faces hidden—and manners take a back seat
to speed and noise. The people in the car don’t wave, don’t offer a ride, and
don’t speak when spoken to.
Maybe the image of the crow’s noisy cawing and flying from post to
Analysis of
images.
post is a foreshadowing that should prepare readers for the automobile. The
speaker feels “worried” about the crow’s apparent directionlessness: “How
would he know where to go?” (16). However, neither the child nor the grand
father (nor the reader on a first reading) clearly sees the two worlds that
Bishop contrasts in the final stanza.
“Hustler Hill” is the perfect name for what finally tires out the mare,
There is no hurry for the grandfather and child, but there is for those people
Conclusion
supporting
thesis on
poem’s
theme.
798
Wr*ing about Poetry: From Inquin, to Final Paper
Epstein 3
in the car and the postwar hustle and bustle they represent. The fastpaced
Future overtakes the tired symbol of the past in the poem. The pace slows as
the wagon passengers get down to walk, but the reader recognizes that the
grandfather’s way has been lost to a world in which good manners are not
required.
Epstein 4
Work Cited
Bishop, Elizabeth. “Manners.” The Bedford Introduction to Literature. Ed.
Michael Meyer. 9th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 792—93.
Print,