Alice Methfessel's Poem, One Art

The background of this poem is that Bishop wrote this poem at a difficult time in her life when she thought she was going to lose her lover, Alice Methfessel. Alice was considering marrying a man. The poem helped the two to reconcile and Alice stayed with Bishop, taking care of her until death. The situation being described in Bishop’s poem, “One Art,” is of a woman, most likely
Bishop herself, who loses everything and treats it as if it isn’t a big deal. She loses her door keys, thoughts, mother’s watch, cities, rivers, continents, etc. Except when she loses the one she loves; the only person that matters to her, that’s when it becomes serious. The objects she lose become more and more significant ending with her lover. Everything before
her lover, she repeats,
“…will bring no disaster.” The main agent of the poem is the narrator and she does change as the poem progresses from indifferent to responsive.
At first, she doesn’t care about what she’s losing because it doesn’t cause her any pain or suffering. But the loss of her companion strikes her right in the heart and she tries to cover her emotions by using humor like a natural reflex. This suggests she may be unconfident or just isn’t used to losing someone she loves. The speech act throughout the poem is an explanation or even a condemnation. She explains that losing something shouldn’t bother you; that it can be a day-to-day habit and it still won’t affect you.
The poem progresses and the rhythm accelerates due to the heightened speed and wave of emotions that are starting to overcome her rationality which lead to interrupted thoughts. The antecedent scenario of the poem is when she describes losing her lover. The stanza starts with a hyphen which conveys a pause. During this pause, the narrator may be hesitant to what her next words will be. After listing off all these material objects and how there wouldn’t be a disaster if she loses them, she decides to say “even losing you” as a joke. She goes on to say “I shan’t have lied,” which expresses that if she did lose her love, it would be a disaster. There’s repetition
of the phrase “The art of losing isn’t hard to master.” To master something is to have complete control over it which Bishop says she has when she talks about losing keys or house. But the only thing she has mastered is the loss of her loved one. She is experienced or knowledgeable in losing items; perhaps clumsy or uncaring because she’s a woman. If you read this from a feminist perspective, Bishop shows authority by commanding the reader to “look” or “write it!”
Bishop tries to control the reader but is unable to control herself as she writes this poem. The theme of the poem is that people lose things every day from something as small as keys to a family member or lover. This is inevitable and we have to face the realization that nothing lasts forever in our lives. Also, since there are so many disappointments in life, we need to develop a habit for being disappointed, or our life will overwhelm us.