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
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