Comparing Skunk Hour And The Armadillo

Skunk Hour by Robert Lowell and The Armadillo by Elizabeth Bishop are very similar poems. The two poems have the theme and title of an animal. One of the contrasts that I could pick out between the two poems is: The Armadillo depicts a creature who cannot understand the events destroying its life, whereas the speaker in Skunk Hour recognizes the events affecting its life.
Using the skunk character as a descriptive element in his poem, Robert Lowell increases the space between the character and the suggestion of the society portrayed in the poem. Normally, everybody avoids skunks because of their reputation for spraying uninvited visitors with a noxious vapor. I think the reason for Robert Lowell's choice in animals is very understandable. Using