Loss can be defined as a means of losing someone or something, typically leaving an individual with a feeling of uncertainty. Elizabeth Bishop and Langston Hughes both published poetry in the same time period. Although they were completely different people, they both experienced tremendous events of loss in their lives. Bishop and Hughes both conveyed their thoughts and feelings through poetry, using art as a form of mourning for themselves. Both Bishop and Hughes associated their sadness with creativity. Specifically, the poems “One Art” (Elizabeth Bishop) and “Harlem” (Langston Hughes), show a nostalgia for when times must have been simpler. This means that loss is a non-disaster (a reference to “One Art”) and racial oppression (a reference to “Harlem”) means dreams are discouraged. These two poets address the theme of loss in their poems by reflecting examples or feelings from their own experiences. They use similar techniques to get the reader to accept this interpretation of what loss means and, therefore, to force the individual to conform. Adhering to Bishop and Langston's perception of loss means agreeing that loss is an inevitable crisis but one that can be experienced. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Loss is bittersweet. “One Art” by Elizabeth Bishop denies any difference between losses by using an ironic tone in this nineteen-line villanelle poem. “One Art” is also partly autobiographical and reflects some of Bishop's real-life losses. At the beginning of the poem it says: "The art of losing is not difficult to master"; (line one) comparing loss as an art that an individual will practice throughout their life. At the beginning of the poem he describes the losses in a funny way as most human beings do with small losses like door keys. However, as the poem progresses, it evolves in a way that implies how time progresses in real life (your life starts with small losses, and as you get older those losses become more historical). Elizabeth Bishop suffered intense loss from a young age when her father died and then, shortly thereafter, her mother was committed to an asylum. Comparing lines eight and nine “places, names, and where you should have traveled. None of these will lead to disaster." on lines thirteen and fourteen: “I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, larger than some of the kingdoms I possessed, two rivers, a continent. exposes how Bishop effortlessly implies his advice to the reader that regardless of the extent of the loss, they are all the same, the loss is just fulfilling an expectation, it is not a disaster. Bishop uses many techniques such as inserting long vowel sounds which subconsciously allows the reader to connect emotion to what Bishop is saying. Incorporating a rhyme scheme within the poem allows for a peaceful and continuous tone. Bishop repeats the third line, “The art of losing is not difficult to master,” as well as emphasizing “loss is not a disaster” (line 3) to persuade the reader that often when an individual has lost something important we feel get excited and we'll see. like a disaster when in reality it isn't, it's just life. “Harlem” a free verse poem written by Langston Hughes addresses the theme of loss. Hughes was a key person in literature during the Harlem Renaissance, a time when African American writers flourished. Hughes' poem "Harlem" was comparable to an anthem for African Americans in this time period. Hughes used techniques in his literature that conveyed imagesfavorable and inadequate of Harlem. He integrated the genre of "blues" into his writings. Hughes, much like Elizabeth Bishop, has had his fair share of what he might describe as historic losses. He wanted his literature to express racial identification and freedom. Hughes was part of a revolution that established how African Americans thought and talked about themselves, particularly in Harlem. In the first line of the poem “Harlem,” “What happens to a dream deferred?” the word “Dream” is meant to represent the American dream. Hughes wants the reader to consider the context in which this poem was written (in the 1950s). Also if African Americans were considered equal in the eyes of the law, culturally they continued to be racially oppressed by society. Their dreams were put on hold because culturally African Americans could not achieve everything that a white man could achieve the sun" (line three) creates images of darker-skinned individuals. Hughes along with many other individuals were frustrated with oppression. The technique of using descriptive words such as “rotten flesh” and “rotten flesh” characterizes what individuals felt beneath their superficial layers. Dictations like “Crust over” or “Sag” described the way people commonly reacted, masking how they really felt with a smile (crust over) and giving up without asking for change (giving in). The last line of Hughes' poem "O explodes" implies that due to this loss a disaster occurs. After the accumulation of these historical casualties among an individual or collective, people see it as something to be upset about or simply consider it fate. Is a dream deferred a loss that can be experienced? In “One Art” and “Harlem” the theme of loss is prominently illustrated. Elizabeth Bishop and Langston Hughes both know that experience means more when writing poetry. When writing out of unhappiness, the mind is allowed to go to deeper places granting the writer different techniques to use in concepts such as tone. Therefore authorizing them to induce the reader to feel emotions. For both Bishop and Hughes, these poems transformed their feelings and memories of loss into wonderful educational works of art. Both poems included metaphors and similes to compare the loss to a recognizable idea, making these ideas more animated for the reader. The formality in the structure of these poems (even if one poem is villanelle and the other is free verse) conveys a sense of wisdom and personal pain at the same time. The theme of loss is associated with memories of Bishop and Hughes which can often be experienced by other individuals as well. For example in line ten of “One Art” “I lost my mother's watch. And look!...” demonstrates a memory of Bishop that has remained with her over time because it seemed like a tremendous loss to her, the loss of the legacy of a loved one. Despite this event, in the following verse twelve he advised himself: “The art of losing is not difficult to master.” Thus meaning a message that is nothing more than anything else he has lost, he had done so many times before. Hughes on the other hand, in his poem "Harlem" it is illustrated that from his own experience during extreme times of oppression and racial segregation, he experienced individuals and collectives postponing their dreams (potentially identifying their dreams) and hiding them with mask until it explodes. Hughes also demonstrates in his poem "Harlem", just as in Elizabeth Bishop's poem "One Art", that these so-called losses, although they seem like a disaster, are still experienced to this day. Please note: this is just an example. Get a card.