"Crusoe in England" appears in Geography III (1976), the final collection Elizabeth Bishop published during her lifetime. The poem is a dramatic monologue voiced by Robinson Crusoe, literature's most famous castaway (the hero of Daniel Defoe's 1719 novel Robinson Crusoe), long after he escapes his desert island and returns home to England. Though Crusoe is inventive and resourceful on the island, he recalls being bored and lonely there—until the arrival of the young man named Friday, with whom he forged a romantic bond. Now, years after Friday's untimely death, he is lonely in a different way altogether. The longest poem of Bishop's career, "Crusoe in England" is often read as an indirect reflection on her life and art as well as a meditation on solitude, love, and grief.

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• “Crusoe in England” Summary

• “Crusoe in England” Themes

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    Isolation, Displacement, and Connection

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-182
  • 

    Subjectivity, Individuality, and Artistic Creation

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-28
    • Lines 55-64
    • Lines 79-99
    • Lines 115-120
    • Lines 154-180
  • 

    Humanity and Nature

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-182
  • 

    Love, Grief, and Guilt

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 129-131
    • Lines 142-153
    • Lines 181-182
  • 

    Procreation and Legacy

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 125-182

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Crusoe in England”

  • Lines 1-7

    A new volcano ...
    ... like a fly.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 8-10

    They named it. ...
    ... got it right.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 11-17

    Well, I had ...
    ... heads blown off.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 18-24

    I'd think that ...
    ... or the gulls,

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 24-28

    or the overlapping ...
    ... was mostly overcast.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 29-35

    My island seemed ...
    ... whole place hissed?

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 36-42

    The turtles lumbered ...
    ... be more turtles.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 43-50

    The beaches were ...
    ... of scuffed-up white.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 51-54

    Glass chimneys, flexible, ...
    ... not much company.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 55-59

    I often gave ...
    ... could have been."

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 60-64

    What's wrong about ...
    ... felt at home.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 65-72

    The sun set ...
    ... sooty, scrub affair.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 73-79

    Snail shells lay ...
    ... I made home-brew.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 79-85

    I'd drink ...
    ... aren't we all?

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 86-92

    I felt a ...
    ... drama or astronomy?

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 92-99

    The books ...
    ... look it up.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 100-106

    The island smelled ...
    ... they're hurting now.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 107-114

    The questioning shrieks, ...
    ... real shade, somewhere.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 115-120

    I'd heard of ...
    ... sniff the air.   

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 121-128

    I'd grab his ...
    ... wouldn't recognize him.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 129-135

    Dreams were the ...
    ... away from mine,

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 135-141

    infinities ...
    ... fauna, their geography.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 142-146

    Just when I ...
    ... we were friends.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 147-152

    If only he ...
    ... a pretty body.

    

    

    

    

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