Abstract
The paper is a criticism of the poem "One Art" by Elizabeth Bishop, using the formalist approach (which advocates that meaning is derived by analysis of the text only). In the poem, Bishop ponders whether one can become a master at losing things and provides an answer. The paper analyzes the poem's use of value progression and the meaning of words and phrases both connotatively and denotatively. It shows how the thesis is made into a paradox by the last stanza, which in the end provides the ultimate meaning of the poem.

From the Paper
By comparing the phrase "the art of losing isn't hard to master" with the frequently used word "disaster," the meaning begins to take shape. This phrase is used four times in this nineteen-line poem (lines 1, 6, 12, 18). Considered closely with the word "disaster," also used four times, one sees the speaker is making a point of rhyming the words master and disaster to emphasize the denotative point that many losses are not disasters they can be accepted without grief or regret (3, 9, 15, 19)."

Tags:formalism, formalist, poetry, human, afflication, regret