"The Bight" and “Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy’s Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota”

One of the most successful ways Elizabeth Bishop establishes the sense of place in the poem “The Bight” is in the first line "At low tide like this how sheer the water is". The use of the words 'like this' create the impression that the place she is referring to is real and immediate, and that the speaker in the poem is present at the location actually describing everything around her. the choice of title also makes it clear of the scene she is depicting. The series of images are successful in setting the scene, in several instances she refers to the colours the ‘white, crumbling ribs of marl’ , the  ‘Black-and-white-man-of-war-birds’ and ‘blue-gray sharks’. In addition to the visual imagery created, the use of other senses- mostly sounds and smells also contribute in illustrating a vivid picture of the landscape presented - the ‘smell’ of the gas, and the sounds of the water with the use of words such as ‘crash’.

James Wright’s poem “Lying in a Hammock at William Duffy’s Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota” is another poem that establishes a sense of place really well. The title itself is incredibly specific, almost like an address with the full name and location of the poem. The opening line clearly shows the poets own presence with the use of the phrase ‘over my head’. What follows is a presentation of several details about the scene, the ‘bronze butterfly’ (good use of alliteration) the ‘droppings of last years horses’, the ‘chicken hawk’. The poet uses colour frequently in his description- the ‘black trunk’, ‘green shadow’, ‘golden stone’. He does not only rely on what he sees however, one interesting part was the reference to the ‘cowbells’ not the cows, which successfully illustrates the sounds in this poem.