The Imaginary Iceberg - A poem by Elizabeth Bishop

Elizabeth Bishop - The Imaginary Iceberg

We'd rather have the iceberg than the ship, 
although it meant the end of travel. 
Although it stood stock-still like cloudy rock 
and all the sea were moving marble. 
We'd rather have the iceberg than the ship; 
we'd rather own this breathing plain of snow 
though the ship's sails were laid upon the sea 
as the snow lies undissolved upon the water. 
O solemn, floating field, 
are you aware an iceberg takes repose 
with you, and when it wakes may pasture on your snows? 

This is a scene a sailor'd give his eyes for. 
The ship's ignored. The iceberg rises 
and sinks again; its glassy pinnacles 
correct elliptics in the sky. 
This is a scene where he who treads the boards 
is artlessly rhetorical. The curtain 
is light enough to rise on finest ropes 
that airy twists of snow provide. 
The wits of these white peaks 
spar with the sun. Its weight the iceberg dares 
upon a shifting stage and stands and stares. 

The iceberg cuts its facets from within. 
Like jewelry from a grave 
it saves itself perpetually and adorns 
only itself, perhaps the snows 
which so surprise us lying on the sea. 
Good-bye, we say, good-bye, the ship steers off 
where waves give in to one another's waves 
and clouds run in a warmer sky. 
Icebergs behoove the soul 
(both being self-made from elements least visible) 
to see them so: fleshed, fair, erected indivisible.

Added: on May 6th, 2006 at 10:40 PM | Viewed: 6770 times | Comments (7)

The Imaginary Iceberg - Comments and Information
Poet: Elizabeth Bishop Poem: The Imaginary Iceberg Volume: North & South Year: Published/Written in 1946 Poem of the Day on: Sep 13 2005 Comment 7 of 7, added on May 10th, 2009 at 1:48 PM. It never occurred to me that College Board would recycle poems, what with the vastness of 'great poetry'. On a tangent, what was the first poem in the 2009 AP Lit and Composition test called? The one about a girl working at a drive-in diner during the summer. Karen from United States Comment 6 of 7, added on May 7th, 2009 at 11:19 PM. I think some legal and moral intervention is in order. As Ms. Bishop was on crack at the time of writing her poem, we have an obligation as AP Victims to inform both the authorities and her parents as to her deviant behavior. Dear Mr. and Mrs. Bishop, Your daughter was so high while writing her poem "The Imaginary Iceberg" that she failed to recognize the iceberg as real, and not simply one of her hallucinations. The dear little ship she spoke of collided with said iceberg in 1912, killing thousands. Maybe it's her method of coping with loss, but I strongly suggest you remind her of the ship's current home at the bottom of the ocean, and also that her iceberg was not quite as imaginary as she had thought. Sincerely, - A victim of your daughter's hallucinations. P.S. Please, also, tell Elizabeth that her iceberg was simply a chunk of ice and has long since melted. A cow probably quenched its thirst with a chunk of her iceberg, and the rest of it likely became snow cones, which were then excreted by little children into swimming pools and honey buckets. Essentially, her iceberg is now a river of sewage. A lovely little AP student. from United States Comment 5 of 7, added on May 6th, 2006 at 10:40 PM. ok those last comments were hilarious...everyone is so right...that first question what the crap?!?! and yes no one cares about icebergs....but its gr8 that everyone hated this poem. Cheers to all good luck on other exams... AP FREAKIN STUDENT from United States More Comments >> Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, The Imaginary Iceberg, has received 7 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!

Poem Info
The Imaginary Iceberg Volume: North & South Year: Published/Written in 1946 Last read: 2009-11-20 20:56:15 Poem of the Day on: Sep 13 2005 Viewed 6770 times. Added on May 6th, 2006 at 10:40 PM.

Bishop Info
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