In Bishop’s poem The Moose she clearly is in no rush to introduce the Moose discussed in the title. Not only this, but Bishop is in no hurry to get anywhere despite the poem’s theme of travel, as many of her poems are. Originally the awaiting time to see a reference of the Moose left a distressing sense within the first parts of the poem, and more so as the poem continues on. As I am asked why Bishop waits such a long period of time to introduce the Moose, I originally imagined that it is because of this intense lead up effect. Now that I have read the poem back to myself dozens of times, I have come to the conclusion that the stanzas before the Moose’s introduction are for attention to detail. Based on the poems by Bishop we only just recently went over in class, I should have figured out that attention to detail is almost a requirement when reviewing one of these poems. She starts off the poem stating the location and setting in general. Bishop continues stanza after stanza explaining detail after detail, and we figure out that this poem is regarding “a bus journeys west.” We do not, however, figure this major detail out until the fifth stanza of the poem, which relates back to my reasoning of Bishop’s attention to detail. We, as readers are only introduced to the Moose when it wanders onto the road in the view of the bus passengers.
When the appearance of the Moose finally occurs, I found that it interrupts the built-up tone that has been growing from the second the poem began. This tone happens to be a peaceful one, and as I mentioned is such a sudden entrance that it is almost startling in turn destroying any peaceful tone that existed beforehand. The arrival of the Moose affects my understanding of the rest of the poem because to me it represents the waking up of the poem. Throughout the stanzas I found that everything was slow and calm; when the moose makes its arrival, Bishop states that the bus comes to a jolted stop and the passengers wake up to observe the large animal. They begin to describe the moose and her characteristics, the passengers mention that the moose is a female and is awfully big, as every moose is. In my opinion, I believe that the Moose brings the poem together, in regard to not only waking up the passengers from their own self-absorption, but also waking then up with the beauties of nature. Curiosity is majorly represented at the end of the poem, and in turn creates a wholesome view of the moose after the original startle of it all.
Kelsey's English Education Blog 
Several points you hit at in your post are the same observations I had in mine, so I’m glad my view is somewhat validated, as examining poetry is not my strong suit.
I very much agree with using the term “self-absorption” because Bishop places emphasis on detailing how many of the others inside the bus are caught in their own conversations as they trudge along. She seems to be the only taking in all the scenery, which is clearly shown through her stylistic attention to detail. She even points out a particular conversation between an elderly couple that has nothing to do with their surroundings and focuses more on their own issues home or between themselves. The moose does, in many ways, act as a sort of symbol against the self-absorption and encourages the passengers to go beyond what is in their head. It creates joy within them all, as Bishop states, and creates a moment of awe that was previously absent.
I agree that curiosity plays a role in the making of this poem because one who sees all the small things in life must have a motive in doing so. Whether it be the description of the landscape, the people inside the bus, the conversations, or the moose itself, curiosity seemingly runs it all and that is something I had not realized myself until reading your post. Therefore, when I read back I’ll notice the underlying pattern between the lines.
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