Unfoldingone Art

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and Drama) makes reference to Bishop's use of metaphor. Elizabeth Bishop refers to losing as an art. The American Heritage Talking Dictionary defines art as a skill that is practiced ("art"). "One Art" makes specific reference to practicing losing (line 7). Loss is defined as a condition of being deprived or bereaved of something or someone ("loss"). Loss is not something done intentionally (such as the word "practice" might suggest) but it is something that is inherent to humans. Perhaps Bishop uses the metaphor of "loss being an art" to confess the different types of loss in her life.
In the first six lines, the poem refers to losing small things. The purpose of some small items is to be lost. With the second and third lines: "so many things seem filled with the intent/ to be lost"(lines 2/3), the reader can quickly make a mental note of small items that have been lost. For example, the reader could have lost marbles or doll clothes as a child. Line four makes the simple ...

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