A poet's high argument; Elizabeth Bishop and Christianity.

9781570037627

A poet's high argument; Elizabeth Bishop and Christianity.

Corelle, Laurel Snow.

U. of South Carolina Press

2008

139 pages

$34.95

Hardcover

PS3503

Elizabeth Bishop grew up in a thoroughly Protestant household and, according to Corelle (English, Babson College) she used that experience as a tool to promote agnosticism. Corelle believes Bishop appropriated traditional genres of Protestant literature, namely allegory, pastoral elegy and spiritual autobiography, to present a subversive critique of Christian language and imagery and promote her own beliefs. In a new reading of some of the poet's most celebrated and enigmatic work, Corelle maps the complex influences of Christian language and literature and Bishop's use of both in promoting agnosticism. She tracks Bishop's early life and subsequent commitment to agnosticism, her study of traditional genres and her intentional application of them to suit her own purposes, and her spirited, but not necessarily entirely spiritual, engagement with orthodox Christianity.

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