North and South (Cyclopedia of Literary Places)
At a glance:
- Author: Elizabeth Bishop
- First Published: 1946
- Type of Work: Poetry
- Genres: Poetry
- Subjects: United States or Americans, South or Southerners, Twentieth century, World War II, Poetry or poets, Paris, Birds, Monsters, Cities or towns, Fishes
Places Discussed
Map. Appropriately enough, the explorations of North and South begin with an examination of a map. In “The Map,” the first poem of the collection, the speaker examines a map of the North Atlantic area. The map is tangible evidence to her of the riddles of human perception, whereby she sees real things as if they were symbolic and—more important in the poem—understands symbols as if they were real. The poem begins with a question of perception: How can the map, which is flat, represent something as three-dimensional as land and ocean? The second...
[The entire page is 816 words long]
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