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... r millionaire? He is a person who retires to the town during the summer only portraying to be a millionaire rather than being one. He displays the town people as being lethargic. The proof of this statement can be seen in his description of the interior decorator because there is no money in his work, / hed rather marry (23 - 24). To justify the meaning of the skunks, Lowell states that the skunks are both quixotic and barbarously absurd, hence the tone of amusement and defiance (210).
Bishops poem, The Armadillo, is dedicated to Robert Lowell. There is no real clear meaning as to why she did this, so only assumptions can be made. It is said this poem influenced Lowells transformation from the strict formalism of Lord Weary's Castle to the more colloquial and personal tone of Life Studies and, in particular, the writing of his poem Skunk Hour (Lensing 80). This could possibly mean Bishop wanted Lowell to try a new style of poetry, and he, in turn, did just that with his poem Skunk Hour. After reading her poem in disbelief, Lowell acknowledged, rereading her I couldnt understand why my own style was so armored heavy and old-fashioned (Lensing 80). Bishop had such a breakthrough effect on Lowells writing techniques it caused him to revolutionize his approach to writing poetry.
Lowell was particularly fond of her new tone, rhythms, imagery, and stanza formation, as read in The Armadillo. One very popular aspect to Bishops poem is its sense of balance. Lensing states that the habitually shifting rhythms of the poem do not allow the reader to lose himself in its lyric music; instead, they keep jolting him to recognition, thereby keeping him from taking sides from becoming, that is, too caught up either in the beauty of the balloons of the terror of the animals (80). Bishops poetry, especially The Armadillo, has received much praise for its revealing secrets. Most of these key symbols and hidden meanings go unnoticed to the untrained eye, which makes a work such as this so praise-worthy. Lowell, too, is also honorably praised for his achievements in poetic techniques in Skunk Hour.
The speaker begins the poem by describing his surroundings of this particular day in time. The speaker does more than just describe the lay of the land, but he also describes the issues facing society. Although he does not blatantly list the problems, he justifies them when one reads between the lines and notes the ecclesiastical, political, economic, social, sexual, and artistic (Dickey 258) concerns challenging the community. Towards the middle of the poem, the meaning takes a surprising twist. The speaker begins to describe the corruptions he is guilty of, including probably the most shocking line in the poem: I myself am hell (35). The last twelve lines in the poem refer to the skunks and how they are fearless of their surroundings.
Lowell describes the community in Maine as being totally corrupted, except for one major character: The skunks. Only the skunks are innocent of any corruptions facing the community, and in their ignorance seem to tacitly point a way for [human] redemption (Dickey 80). The tone of the poem is, without question, dispirited. One can realize this since the poems setting is approaching fall and wintertime seasons most associated with death. As the poem ends, a mother skunk is with her litter searching for food in front of the townspeople. This image suggests that as humans we can create any number of imaginative activities and views of life, but when we pull our heads out of these imaginative sands and look at the world, what we see is a constant struggle between life and death (Walling).
The poems The Armadillo by Elizabeth Bishop and Skunk Hour by Robert Lowell have many similarities not only in their images, but in their meanings as well. These poems have been praised for decades for the talented themes and techniques used to produce such works of art. Bishop and Lowell both influenced each other, Bishop more than Lowell, however. Their use of animals in their poems gives the reader an opportunity to use the mind to try to seek their meanings and decode the symbols behind the animals. Most poets tend to write about their innermost feelings; however, Bishop and Lowell employ lifes joys and hardships to create their works. They pay close attention to their emphasis on detail.
When one reads their poetry, one is able to literally paint a picture of the setting in ones head because of the imagery created in their poetry. There is not one minor detail left out which could distract the reader from fully comprehending the speakers surroundings. Bishop and Lowells poetry has become more popular throughout the years because people are able to relate the hardships mentioned in their poetry to the issues of the present. Poetry is a special kind of language and implies such ideas such as attitudes, joy, indignation, compassion, pity, rage, commiseration, empathy, and other thoughts or emotions (Dickey 258) that are not necessarily considered a spoken language. Bishop and Lowell have come to master this skill and implement these tools so one can fully appreciate the value their poems offer. Bishop and Lowell will always be remembered as poets that belonged in a class of their own, and the honor they have earned will not be forgotten by this generation or generations to follow.
Works Cited Bowers, Neal. Bishop and Lowell a Friendship of an Era. Sewanee Review Winter 1996: 104. Academic Search Premier. 19 Mar. 2002.
GALILEO. Dickey, R. P. Sewanee Review (1974): 738 - 39.
Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Carolyn Riley and Phyllis Carmel Mendelson.
Vol. 5. Detroit: Gale, 1976. 258. Lensing, George S. The Subtraction of Emotion in the Poetry of Elizabeth Bishop. The Gettysburg Review. (1992): 48 - 61. Rpt.
in Poetry Criticism. Ed. Elisabeth Gallery. Vol. 34. Farmington Hills: Gale, 2002. 80. Lowell, Robert.
On Skunk Hour. Robert Lowell: A Collection of Critical Essays. (1968): 131 - 34. Rpt. in Poetry Criticism. Ed. Robyn Young.
Vol. 3. Detroit: Gale, 1992. 210 - 11. Lowell, Robert Travel Spence, Jr. CD-ROM. Redmond: Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia. 2001.
The Poetry of Elizabeth Bishop. Literary Cavalcade Jan. 1998: 50. Academic Search Premier. 25 Mar. 2002. GALILEO. Walling, M.
Lowells Skunk Hour. Explicator Winter 1991: 49. Academic Search Premier. 25 Mar. 2002. GALILEO.
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Research essay sample on Comparing Poetry Of Elizabeth Bishop And Robert Lowell
