Crusoe in England (Masterplots II: Poetry, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Elizabeth Bishop
- First Published: 1976
- Type of Work: Dramatic monologue
- Genres: Poetry, Dramatic monologue
- Subjects: Literature, England or English people, Islands, Shipwrecks, Old age or elderly people, Aging
The Poem
“Crusoe in England” is a poem of 183 lines spoken by Robinson Crusoe (after his return from his island exile) that actually expresses Elizabeth Bishop’s own summation of her difficult creative life as a poet.
The poem opens with Robinson Crusoe, back in England, reflecting on his past life of more than fifty years on an island alone but in fact giving utterance to Bishop’s apologia for her poetic career. News that a volcano has created a new island somewhere causes Crusoe to recall his own island, to explore it in memory in order to discover the real...
[The entire page is 1436 words long]
