"In the Waiting Room" is a well-known poem by Elizabeth Bishop, written in 1971 and published in the collection Geography III in 1976. The poem reflects a young girl's experience waiting for her aunt at the dentist's office and explores themes of identity and self-awareness.
Facts About This Work
| Fact | Details |
|---|---|
| Title | In the Waiting Room |
| Author | Elizabeth Bishop |
| Year Written | 1971 |
| Publication | Geography III, 1976 |
| Setting | Worcester, Massachusetts, February 5, 1918 |
| Theme | Identity, self-awareness, and the body |
| Form | Unrhymed free verse with iambic trimeter tendencies |
Summary
‘In the Waiting Room’ recounts a significant moment from the speaker’s childhood, reflecting on her experience and personal realization.
- Setting: The poem takes place in a dentist's waiting room in Worcester, Massachusetts, on February 5, 1918. It describes the time of day as afternoon with early darkness due to winter.
- Speaker's Experience: The young speaker, who is six years old, is waiting for her aunt’s dental appointment. While waiting, she examines a National Geographic magazine, which features various disturbing and fascinating images.
- Epiphany: The speaker experiences a moment of profound realization as she connects with the imagery in the magazine and hears her aunt’s cry from the dentist's office. This leads her to a new awareness of her own identity and place in the world.
- Realization of Similarity: The speaker perceives a connection between herself and the other people in the waiting room, including her aunt, and starts to contemplate her own future and identity.
- Return to Consciousness: The poem concludes with the speaker regaining consciousness, aware of her surroundings and the historical context (the First World War), which underscores the contrast between her personal experience and the broader world.
Analysis
The poem explores themes of identity, the body, and self-awareness, blending personal narrative with deeper philosophical reflections.
- Gender and Identity: The poem raises questions about gender and self-perception. The speaker's reaction to the images of women in the magazine reflects her emerging awareness of her own gender and the societal expectations associated with it.
- Universal and Individual: Bishop examines the tension between individuality and universality. The realization that the speaker shares common traits with others, including her aunt, emphasizes the interconnectedness of human experience.
- Body and Physicality: The poem delves into the physical aspects of existence, from the images in the magazine to the speaker's own body. This focus on physicality highlights the poem's exploration of bodily experiences and their impact on self-awareness.
- Ambiguity and Awareness: The moment when the speaker hears her aunt’s cry introduces ambiguity, blurring the lines between internal and external experiences. This ambiguity contributes to the poem's exploration of consciousness and identity.
- Form and Structure: The poem's form, with its short, brisk lines and uneven stanzas, reflects the speaker's fragmented and evolving sense of self. The structure mirrors the process of personal revelation and the disruption of the speaker's understanding of herself.
Form
The form of *In the Waiting Room* is distinctive, combining elements of traditional and free verse to reflect the speaker’s perspective.
- Unrhymed Structure: The poem is unrhymed, diverging from traditional rhyme schemes and embracing a more fluid, free verse approach.
- Brisk Lines: The use of short, brisk lines conveys the immediacy and intensity of the speaker’s experience and emotional state.
- Iambic Trimeter: The lines often gravitate towards iambic trimeter, with a final hypermetrical stress adding emphasis and rhythm.
- Uneven Stanzas: The stanzas vary in length, reflecting the poem’s shifting focus and the speaker’s evolving thoughts.
- Structural Breaks: The poem’s structure, including the break before the final stanza, mirrors the disruption in the speaker’s consciousness and her eventual return to awareness.