Like Torn, Unanswered Letters: Similes in Elizabeth Bishop

This essay reexamines Elizabeth Bishop’s use of simile, challenging critical accounts that, since antiquity, have dismissed the device as limited in ambition or overly literal. Contrary to the claim that simile is a “half-measure trope” (per Bonnie Costello), solely limited to “local degrees of likeness” (per Denis Donoghue), Bishop’s poetry demonstrates a capacity to exceed and transform reality, as well as to create multiple possible interpretations. Indeed, Bishop’s similes are ambitious: they do not merely reflect reality but seek to transform it within the poem, by reshaping the poet’s and reader’s perception of their subject. They also foster multiplicity and ambiguity over precision and clarity—the two traits most often ascribed to Bishop’s style. It is typically said that Bishop uses simile to contain emotions, particularly those drawn from her life, by confining them to a single image. In fact, her similes generate several competing interpretations that cannot easily be resolved through an autobiographical reading. In sum, Bishop’s use of simile offers a new look at this poetic device, demonstrating its ability to disrupt and expand a poem’s meaning.