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Elizabeth Bishop, “One Art”

This is an earlier poem than “The Fish,” published in 1946 in Bishop's first collection, North & South. Like “The Fish,” it contains oblique references to the author's personal life and experiences. In the case of “One Art,” the losses described in the poem have been linked to specific losses Bishop herself experienced during her life. You can read more about this in SparkNotes guide to that poem's “Analysis of the Speaker” section.

Mary Oliver, “Wild Geese”

Although both poets exhibit great sensitivity to the natural world, they have different approaches worthy of comparison. Perhaps most notable is the difference between the speakers in their respective poems. Oliver’s speaker has a certain melancholy tone, whereas Bishop’s speaker is much more motivated by awe and wonder.

William Wordsworth, Wordsworth’s Poetry

It’s worthwhile to link Bishop to Wordsworth, who is an important predecessor in the lineage of nature poetry. His reflections on the natural world are less earnest than hers, but her work still owes a debt to him and other British Romantic poets.

Walt Whitman, Whitman’s Poetry

Whitman represents another key forebear for Bishop. Although his poetry is much wilder and experimental than a poem like “The Fish,” his concern with nature and how to situate the self in relationship to nature draws them together. His sense of ecstasy also resonates strongly with the end of Bishop’s poem.

Henry David Thoreau, Walden

As someone who we now associate with the American Transcendentalist movement, Thoreau is another important figure to know about in relationship to Oliver. His exuberant account of the year he spent near Walden Pond makes him a kindred spirit to the speaker of “The Fish.”

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