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Poet: Elizabeth Bishop
Poem: Sestina
Volume: Questions of Travel
Year: Published/Written in 1955
Poem of the Day on:
Jan 28 2005
Comment 15 of 15, added on November 14th, 2006 at 12:04 AM.
Equinoctial means of or pertaining to an equinox, which is when day and night are approximately the same length all over the earth. This happens when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator. It occurs usually around March 21 for the spring equinox, and September 22 for the fall equinox.
Lauren from United States
Comment 14 of 15, added on October 24th, 2006 at 9:26 PM.
Thank you guys a lot! This poem is about life and death. But, if you want, everything can be related to religions. And, could anyone do me a favour, talk about "equinoctial" please? I am not an astronologist...
CHN from Canada
Comment 13 of 15, added on June 26th, 2006 at 5:20 PM.
As a teacher, I enjoy reading all of these comments and ideas about the poem. But one thing that I and most teachers work very hard to impress on our students is that no one ( except the poet herself ) has the one real true answer to a poem's total meaning. No one knows exactly what the poet was doing here. What we DO know is that she created a beautiful and touching piece within the boundaries of a challenging poetry form, the sestina. With that in mind, be careful to look at her six word choices. Note that she sets it in September and that the tears are "equinoctial"--why? At the very least, consider that this poet had some intention of direction with the poem, and it most likely was NOT religious but rather more about age and youth, grief and innocence, and the symbolic qualities that only an almanac could possess. My students delight in finding possible meanings in this poem, but a true reader and lover of poetry must finally acknowledge that the poet used her or his word choices to convey a direction of sorts. Just ask one!!!
Jgill from United States
Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, Sestina, has received 15 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own. Of course you can also always discuss poems by Elizabeth Bishop with others on the Poetry Connection poetry forum!
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Equinoctial means of or pertaining to an equinox, which is when day and night are approximately the same length all over the earth. This happens when the sun crosses the plane of the earth's equator. It occurs usually around March 21 for the spring equinox, and September 22 for the fall equinox.
Lauren from United States