24. Elizabeth Bishop

Modern Poetry (ENGL 310) with Langdon Hammer

The early poetry of Elizabeth Bishop is discussed. The poet is positioned as an endpoint to modernism, and in her essay "Dimensions for a Novel," a response to Eliot's "Tradition and the Individual Talent," Bishop is shown to transfer Eliot's concept of "tradition" to the construction of literary works. The poem "The Map" is presented as an expression of Bishop's early thinking about geography and world-making. "The Gentleman of Shalott" is considered as a contemplation of the process of perception. Finally, "Sandpiper" is read as a meditation on the challenges of locating coherence in a shifting world.

00:00 - Chapter 1. Introduction: Elizabeth Bishop
11:09 - Chapter 2. Elizabeth Bishop Poem: "The Map"
30:05 - Chapter 3. Elizabeth Bishop Poem: "The Gentleman of Shalott"
40:57 - Chapter 4. Elizabeth Bishop Poem: "Sandpiper"

Complete course materials are available at the Open Yale Courses website: http://oyc.yale.edu

This course was recorded in Spring 2007.