“The Mountain” Introduction

• Read the full text of “The Mountain”

“The Mountain” Summary

“The Mountain” Themes

• 

  The Pain, Confusion, and Isolation of Aging

  Where this theme appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-36

Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “The Mountain”

• Lines 1-4

  At evening, something ...
  ... know my age.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 5-8

  In the morning ...
  ... old I am.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 9-12

  And then the ...
  ... know my age.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 13-16

  I do not ...
  ... old I am.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 17-20

  The deepest demarcation ...
  ... know my age.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 21-24

  Shadows fall down; ...
  ... old I am.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 25-28

  Stone wings have ...
  ... know my age.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 29-32

  I am growing ...
  ... old I am.

  

  

  

  

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• Lines 33-36

  Let the moon ...
  ... old I am.

  

  

  

  

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“The Mountain” Symbols

• 

  Day and Night

  Where this symbol appears in the poem:

  • Lines 1-3: “At evening, something behind me. / I start for a second, I blench, / or staggeringly halt and burn.”
  • Lines 5-7: “In the morning it is different. / An open book confronts me, / too close to read in comfort.”
  • Lines 21-23: “Shadows fall down; lights climb. / Clambering lights, oh children! / you never stay long enough”
  • Lines 33-34: “Let the moon go hang, / the stars go fly their kites”
• 

  Birds

  Where this symbol appears in the poem:

  • Lines 25-26: “Stone wings have sifted here / with feathers hardening feathers”
  • Line 27: “The claws are lost somewhere.”
  • Lines 29-30: “Bird-calls / dribble”

“The Mountain” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

• Alliteration

  

  

  

  

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  Where alliteration appears in the poem:

  • Line 2: “start,” “second,” “blench”
  • Line 3: “staggeringly,” “burn”
  • Line 4: “not,” “know”
  • Line 6: “confronts”
  • Line 7: “close,” “comfort”
  • Line 12: “not,” “know”
  • Line 13: “not,” “mean”
  • Line 17: “deepest,” “demarcation”
  • Line 18: “slowly,” “spread,” “sink”
  • Line 20: “not,” “know”
  • Line 21: “lights,” “climb”
  • Line 22: “Clambering,” “lights”
  • Line 27: “claws,” “lost”
  • Line 28: “not,” “know”
  • Line 30: “waterfalls”
  • Line 31: “unwiped,” “What”

• Apostrophe

  

  

  

  

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  Where apostrophe appears in the poem:

  • Line 8: “Tell me”
  • Line 16: “Tell me”
  • Lines 22-23: “oh children! / you never stay”
  • Line 24: “Tell me”
  • Lines 31-32: “What is my age? / Tell me”
  • Line 36: “Tell me”

• End-Stopped Line

  

  

  

  

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  Where end-stopped line appears in the poem:

  • Line 1: “me.”
  • Line 2: “blench,”
  • Line 3: “burn.”
  • Line 4: “age.”
  • Line 5: “different.”
  • Line 6: “me,”
  • Line 7: “comfort.”
  • Line 8: “am.”
  • Line 11: “ears.”
  • Line 12: “age.”
  • Line 13: “complain.”
  • Line 14: “fault.”
  • Line 15: “anything.”
  • Line 16: “am.”
  • Line 19: “tattoo.”
  • Line 20: “age.”
  • Line 21: “climb.”
  • Line 22: “children!”
  • Line 23: “enough.”
  • Line 24: “am.”
  • Line 26: “feathers.”
  • Line 27: “somewhere.”
  • Line 28: “age.”
  • Line 31: “age?”
  • Line 32: “am.”
  • Line 33: “hang,”
  • Line 34: “kites.”
  • Line 35: “age.”
  • Line 36: “am.”

• Imagery

  

  

  

  

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  Where imagery appears in the poem:

  • Lines 2-3: “I start for a second, I blench, / or staggeringly halt and burn”
  • Lines 6-7: “An open book confronts me, / too close to read in comfort”
  • Lines 9-11: “the valleys stuff / impenetrable mists / like cotton in my ears”
  • Lines 17-19: “The deepest demarcation / can slowly spread and sink / like any blurred tattoo”
  • Lines 21-22: “Shadows fall down; lights climb. / Clambering lights”
  • Line 25: “Stone wings have sifted here”
  • Lines 29-31: “Bird-calls / dribble and the waterfalls / go unwiped”
  • Lines 33-34: “the moon go hang, / the stars go fly their kites”

• Metaphor

  

  

  

  

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  Where metaphor appears in the poem:

  • Lines 6-7: “An open book confronts me, / too close to read in comfort.”
  • Lines 9-11: “And then the valleys stuff / impenetrable mists / like cotton in my ears.”
  • Lines 17-19: “The deepest demarcation / can slowly spread and sink / like any blurred tattoo.”
  • Lines 21-23: “Shadows fall down; lights climb. / Clambering lights, oh children! / you never stay long enough.”
  • Lines 25-27: “Stone wings have sifted here / with feathers hardening feathers. / The claws are lost somewhere.”
  • Lines 29-31: “Bird-calls / dribble and the waterfalls / go unwiped.”
  • Lines 33-34: “Let the moon go hang, / the stars go fly their kites.”

• Personification

  

  

  

  

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  Where personification appears in the poem:

  • Line 6: “An open book confronts me”
  • Lines 9-11: “the valleys stuff / impenetrable mists / like cotton in my ears”
  • Lines 21-22: “Shadows fall down; lights climb. / Clambering lights, oh children!”
  • Lines 33-34: “Let the moon go hang, / the stars go fly their kites.”

• Refrain

  

  

  

  

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  Where refrain appears in the poem:

  • Line 4: “I do not know my age.”
  • Line 8: “Tell me how old I am.”
  • Line 12: “I do not know my age.”
  • Line 16: “Tell me how old I am.”
  • Line 20: “I do not know my age.”
  • Line 24: “Tell me how old I am.”
  • Line 28: “I do not know my age.”
  • Line 31: “What is my age?”
  • Line 32: “Tell me how old I am.”
  • Line 35: “I want to know my age.”
  • Line 36: “Tell me how old I am.”

• Simile

  

  

  

  

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  Where simile appears in the poem:

  • Lines 9-11: “And then the valleys stuff / impenetrable mists / like cotton in my ears.”
  • Lines 17-19: “The deepest demarcation / can slowly spread and sink / like any blurred tattoo.”

“The Mountain” Vocabulary

Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.

• Blench
• Staggeringly
• Inpenetrable
• Demarcation
• Clambering
• Sifted

• (Location in poem: Line 2: “I start for a second, I blench,”)

Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “The Mountain”

• Form

• Meter

• Rhyme Scheme

“The Mountain” Speaker

“The Mountain” Setting

Literary and Historical Context of “The Mountain”

More “The Mountain” Resources

• External Resources

  • The Poem Aloud — Listen to a recitation of "The Mountain."

  • Bishop's Biography — Read the Poetry Foundation's overview of the poet's life and career.

  • Bishop's Art of Losing — Browse this in-depth look at Bishop's personal life and relationships, including a discussion of their influence on her poetic output.

  • How Are Mountains Formed? — Gain more insight into the poem's mountain imagery with this explanation of mountain formation.

  • A Bishop Documentary — Watch this brief documentary on Bishop's life and career, courtesy of the classic Voices and Visions series.

• LitCharts on Other Poems by Elizabeth Bishop

  • Crusoe in England

  • Filling Station

  • First Death in Nova Scotia

  • One Art

  • Sestina

  • The Fish

  • The Man-Moth