Pulitzer Prize awarded and one of the most important poets of the twentieth century – Elizabeth Bishop – is the author of “In the Waiting Room”. This poem was published in 1971 and starts with setting the time and place of the story. Little Elizabeth came to a dentist’s appointment with her aunt Consuelo and sat in the waiting room while her aunt was getting treatment. The story in the poem took place in February 1918 in Bishop’s hometown – Worcester, Massachusetts. The Waiting Room unveils Elizabeth’s childhood experience and uncovers many vital themes. The main topics of the poem are the author’s first steps in identifying her sexual orientation and her anti-war position during the poem’s published year.
The poem reveals the beginning of Elizabeth’s search for her sexual orientation. Seven years old Bishop was sitting in the waiting room and looking through National Geographic magazine when she saw “black, naked women” (Bishop 45). Elizabeth continues by saying, “Their breasts were horrifying” (Bishop 45). Through these lines reader observes a child having the standard reaction to naked bodies – she was frightened. Later in the poem, she is reading the magazine without stopping and without embarrassment. Those lines explain to the reader that Elizabeth was going through a strange experience that she encountered for the first time in her life. According to O’Carroll et al. article, “years before reproductive capacity begins is naturally a time for learning” (O’Carroll et al. 3) which explains how Elizabeth started exploring new things in the magazine. Bishop lived for 14 years with a Brazilian woman Lota de Macedo Soares, which hints at her non-traditional sexual orientation. Premises of her queerness are seen in the lines “Why should I be my aunt, or me, or anyone?” (Bishop 45). The poem might be a confession she made in her adulthood.
Another important topic in the poem is Elizabeth’s anti-war position which is understood through knowing the context of the story. This work was published in July 1971 – a year when Washington D.C. saw the largest anti-war demonstration (Flückiger). In addition, the author mentions the fifth of February 1918 – the year when the first time sent American ship with troops for World War 1 was bombed by a German U-Boat near the coast of Ireland (Axelrod). Bishop’s setting in the poem is “night and slush and cold,” which symbolizes how frustrated she was by the situation in the world (Bishop 45). A seven-year-old child, Elizabeth, was sitting in the dentist’s waiting room and realized that there was war outside (Bishop). Uncovering the anti-war and humane topic makes this poem live even today. Perhaps, the actuality of the problem encouraged the author to write her story down so many years later.
The poem’s language is more prose-like because of the absence of rhyme but it still has several poetic devices that make “In the Waiting Room” authentic. Some of them are enjambment (line breaks), figurative language, and alliteration. Enjambment is used to control the speed at which the reader goes through the lines; for instance, lines seven in stanzas one and two in the fifth stanza are examples of enjambment. This device enables the reader to dive into the poem’s mood and atmosphere, which is a little sad and dark. Instead of metaphors, Bishop used figurative language to describe that one thing was similar to another. The reader can observe this method through lines from twenty-eight to thirty in the first stanza. Alliteration appears in line twenty-seven of stanza one by repeating “round and round” (Bishop 45). All these devices make the poem sound emotional and help readers experience the same thing as the author.
To conclude, “In the Waiting Room” is an essential literary work about a child searching for sexual orientation and beholding an anti-war position where literary devices such as alliteration, enjambment, and figurative language are employed. Elizabeth used this poem to tell how she began questioning her sexuality and expressing her position regarding the political state in the world, which makes the poem actual even today. Teaching this poem at schools and universities will possibly help youngsters who go through the same experience described in the poem feel less alone.
Works Cited
O’Carroll, Thomas. “Sharon Lamb & Jen Gilbert (Eds.): The Cambridge Handbook of Sexual Development: Childhood and Adolescence.” (2020): 345-354.
Bishop, Elizabeth. The Complete Poems: 1927-1979. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006.
Flückiger, Isabelle. “1971 - a Turning Point in History That Still Influences Today’s World.” Medium, History of Yesterday, 2021.
Axelrod, Alan. How America Won World War I. Rowman & Littlefield, 2018.