Below you will find reproductions of 16 drafts of Elizabeth Bishop’s poem “One Art.” Each reproduction also features a link to a photograph of Bishop’s original. As you click between drafts, you will see newly introduced or revised text appear highlighted in blue. You will also find underlined text, which you can mouse over to reveal either previous versions of that specific draft or reflection questions about Bishop’s revisions; text with assoicated questions also appears in blue. By exploring how the poem evolved over time, we hope that you will come to better understand how, and particularly why, the final poem ended up the way it did. We also encourage you to explore the pages linked above to gain a better understanding of the poem’s history and modern life.
Draft 13Draft 14
The art of losing isn't hard to master:
so many things seem really to be meant
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.
Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door-keys, an hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.
Then practice losing further, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to go. NoneAnd none will spell disaster.
I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last of three loved houses went ,
awayThe art to lose them wasn't hardtoo hard t.
Consider the meter of this poem. Why might Bishop have deleted 'too?' Do you think this choice makes the statement more or less powerful? master .
I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms of mine, two rivers, a continent.First 'small realms, two rivers, then a continent.'
Then, 'some realms of mine, rivers, a continent.'
I miss them, but I'd neverI would not
Does either 'I would not' or 'I'd never' feel stronger to you? Does one feel more natural for you to say? With that in mind, why might Bishop have made this revision? say disaster.
And losing you (funny voice; one gesture)First, 'And losing you now (a special voice, a gesture)',
then '(that funny voice; that gesture)',
then '(that joking voice; one gesture).
How do the differences between 'a,' 'that,' and the lack of a determiner contribute to the specificity of this line? Do you think Bishop wanted a more specific or more general reading?
doesn't mean I've lied. It's evident
the loss of love is possible to master,
even if this looks like (Write it!) like disaster. The draft features a second version of this final stanza. Bishop appears to have chosen not to incorporate it, but it is reproduced belowas it appears on the draft (note that 'I've lied' in the second line was crossed out underneath the strikethrough):
In losing you ^ I haven't lied above. It's evident
does not mean that I've lied I'm lying. It's evident
the loss of love is something one must master
even when if it looks like (Write it!) like disaster.
The art of losing isn't hard to master:
so many things seem really to be meant
to be lost that their loss is no disaster.
Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door-keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.
Then practice losing further, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel.Where else does the 'a' sound appear in this stanza? How about the 'o' of go in the previous draft? Do you think this was a revision more motivated by meaning or by the sonic qualities of the poem? None of thesethem will will spelldisaster.
I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn'tHow does 'art of losing' give a different effect than 'art to lose them,' given the rest of the poem? hard to master.
I lost two cities, lovely ones. And vaster,
some realms I owned, of mine two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.
EvenNot originally present In losing you (a joking voice, a gesture
I love)Compare the addition of 'I love' with the specific attributes Bishop mentions in previous drafts. Does this make the poem feel more or less personal than those details? Do you think it is wise of Bishop to explicitly use the word 'love' here, and in the poem generally?, These are not lies.I haven't lied It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard losing can not be too hard to master.
reflect on the previous draft's line, 'the loss of love is possible to master.' What is Bishop's actual attitude towards the loss of love and the art of losing in the poem? Does this revision make the poem seem more or less sarcastic? More or less sad? More or less desparate?to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like disasterThis line went through several evolutions. Note that 'when' was struck through below the full strikethrough of the first line, and 'if' was written below. The 'al' of 'although' in the fourth line was also eliminated before the rest of the line. The second line contains some illegible edits; consult the original image of the draft below:
even when if it looks like (Oh, write it!) like disaster.
although _________^like (_____ it!) like disaster.
although it looks like (Write it!) like disaster.
although it may look like (Write it!) like disaster.
even when it looks like
These are not lies.
