"The Mountain" is a free verse poem by American writer and artist Elizabeth Bishop, composed in Brazil and first published in Poetry magazine in 1952. Taking the perspective of an ancient, isolated mountain, the poem details the daily discomforts and emotional turmoil that accompany growing older. The speaker seems to have lost track of time and, with it, a coherent sense of self. Ultimately, the descriptions of the mountain and its landscape produce an extended metaphor for the aging process, with its difficult and often painful transformations.

• 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.

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  • Lines 5-8

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

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  • Lines 9-12

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

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  • Lines 13-16

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

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  • Lines 17-20

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

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  • Lines 21-24

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

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  • Lines 25-28

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

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  • Lines 29-32

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

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

  • Lines 33-36

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

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

• “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

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

    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

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

    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

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

    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

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

    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

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

    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

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

    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

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

    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

    

    

    

    

    Unlock with LitCharts A⁺

    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

Cite This Page