Analysis Of Elizabeth Bishop's 'First Death In Nova Scotia'

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Rationale The written task is linked to part four of the course, Literature: Critical Study. I decided to write a memoir from Elizabeth Bishop's perspective, referring back to her first experience with death. The memoir is based upon details from her autobiographical poem "First Death in Nova Scotia”. In this poem, Bishop reflects the innocence and confusion of children about death. She imagines her young cousin, as a white doll, waiting to be painted. In this task however, I will explore how mature Bishop remembers all of the details of the event. This task intends to explore further details and aspects of the poem. It will enable me to explore a potential link between Bishop and her mother. I felt that the context and details given by Bishop in the poem keeps the reader asking for more. The task attempts to look at an alternative narrative…show more content…
It was under a blanket of silence, as if the town inhabitants were gone. The Northern Cardinal that sings each morning was unheard that day. I remember grandmother mentioning someone's departure that today. " You have to dress elegantly today Elizabeth. Your cousin Arthur is leaving and I wouldn't want of him to think that you haven't grown up. It might be the last time you see each ot-". "Don't say it granny!" I cried. "Me and Arthur we have plans for future. He promised me. Arthur doesn’t break promises, I know it!" The chilly parlor had a suffocating atmosphere. Everything felt so still and lifeless. Paintings of the royal families that were supposed to be calmly smiling instead felt as if they grinned down at us. The loon's eyes were the only other noticeable colour, blood red. The room was filled with adults, most of them strangers I did not recognize. A sea of black and emptiness. I didn't know what to think. Infinite questions whizzed around inside my brain, with no answers. Death was an unfamiliar concept, even to a fatherless child like

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