A Prodigal Commentary

This poem can be a representation of Elizabeth Bishop's on life. In the analysis I posted it says that Bishop had a problem with addiction just as the man in the poem. The man in the poem feels alone and like he doesn't belong so maybe Bishop feels the same way. The poem shows that he is ashamed of his addiction because it say “he hid two pints behind a two by four.” He is like a representation of Elizabeth. He is a poor man and was poorly kept because of his alcohol addiction. When he is sober he doesn't like having to live with pigs and he feels down about how the pigs accept him. But when he wakes up in the morning he is okay because he is drunk. The alcohol makes him feel that his life isn't all that bad and he might able to live like this forever. The poem goes in depth about how much the farmer feels isolated and then makes a metaphor about him having a “staggering life” and is moving without a purpose. After the man takes an inventory of his life he decides to get back on track. A theme of this poem is the beauty in unattractive places. This poem is a double sonnet with an irregular rhyme scheme. Bishop uses very detailed imagery to bring the scene to life. The word “But” in the beginning of the second section signals a change of mood. Before he was content with living with pigs for another year but once you get to the second section he begins to think that that is no way to live or to deal with his problems. The star coming to guide the prodigal home is an allusion to the bible and the story of Jesus’ birth when the north star guided the three wise men to the manger where Jesus was born.