When was filling station by elizabeth bishop written

We use cookies to give you the best experience possible. Oh, but it is dirty! Be careful with that match! Do they live in the station?

It has a cement porch behind the pumps, and on it a set of crushed and grease- impregnated wickerwork; on the wicker sofa a dirty dog, quite comfy. Some comic books provide the only note of color— of certain color. They lie upon a big dim doily draping a taboret part of the set , beside a big hirsute begonia.

Why the extraneous plant? Why the taboret? Why, oh why, the doily? Moreover, when studying the [oi] atmosphere throughout the poem the [oi] doily and embroidered seem to particularly stand out. Whereas the [oi] sound created an oily sound of language throughout the poem, the repetitive [ow] sound achieves a very different syntactical feature.

Not only are [oi] and [ow] sounds effectively used in this poem to create a unique tone but so is the use of the cacophony [k] sound. Bishop seems to be paying special attention to these words as the words themselves have a double meaning. The poet does not want the reader to forget that they are in the harsh conditions of the filling station, hence the jarring [k] sound, yet the meaning of the words suggests a kind, comfortable atmosphere.

At a very simplistic level, the poem begins with the setting of a filthy gas station, or perhaps somewhere else where conditions are not very clean, like a ghetto for example.

Oil and concrete are usually associated with the spoiling of the natural, wholesome environment. Oil is still very much part of the atmosphere but its effect is not as disastrous. Instead of oil, beauty begins to seep between the lines.

The brightness of comic books, an embroidered doily daintily sitting upon the table, a huge, shaggy plant —these little touches of pleasantries adds to a much homier environment.

Although still somewhat out of place in this filling station these cheerful additions are really what make the station. Although in reality, this family lives in the run-down station they, themselves do not have to actually become the station. Note the language and the intention It could be. Elizabeth Bishop was very aware of losing things her father at an early age and mother when she was a teenager and then a lover later on in life and feeling deep loss.

So this poem is far more than mere description of a dirty filling station. It tells the story of life at a place a modern community needs to survive fuel and oil ; hints at a hard working family missing a vital element - the mother.

And that final line introduces the idea that, if there was no all-encompassing love, the whole scene would fall apart, combust. Filling Station is a free verse poem of 41 lines, made up of six stanzas. There is no set rhyme scheme and no regular meter metre in British English , so the beats and stresses vary from line to line, like with everyday conversation. Initially, the tone is one of disgust and slight shock as the speaker's first impression upon arrival kicks in.

Safety is a priority, so there is a cautiousness underlying. The speaker is incredulous, perhaps the dirtiness is an affront? But the tone does change. The more the observation deepens the more optimistic the language, resulting in a final line that could be based on pure relief.

There are some interesting sound patterns within these stanzas, repeated phrases and words reinforcing a strong sense of disgust at and puzzlement with the grubby filling station. Note the following :. Marine Biology. Electrical Engineering. Computer Science. Medical Science. Writing Tutorials. Performing Arts. Visual Arts. Student Life. Vocational Training. Standardized Tests. Online Learning. Social Sciences. Legal Studies. Political Science.