Symbols, Imagery, Wordplay
Form and Meter
This poem doesn't follow any formal guidelines. But Bishop does like to keep things tidy.The poem is made up of six stanzas, all of six or seven lines each (except for the last stanza, which has ei...
Speaker
The speaker in this poem is a persistent observer. Seriously, this person, whoever it is, takes a long, hard look at this filling station, and spares us no details. She's practically Sherlockian in...
Setting
Surprise, surprise, this one's set in a filling (read: gas) station. And no, the setting does not shift at all during the course of the poem. In fact, this poem is entirely structured around settin...
What's Up With the Title?
Nothing's up with the title, really. Sorry to rain on your parade. But the fact of the matter is, Bishop often titles her poems after their main subject. This poem is about a filling station, so sh...
Calling Card
Bishop isn't one to gloss over details. If you're looking for a poem to take you on a magic carpet ride, swooping for a moment over mountaintops, then quickly turning toward the coastline, you're r...
Tough-o-Meter
Bishop doesn't lead us too far into the woods in this poem. We're pretty stationary the whole time. As long as you're willing to dig past the first layer of grease to investigate the potential home...
Trivia
Bishop lived in many places in the course of her lifetime, so we're betting she saw her fair share of filling stations, from Nova Scotia to Massachusetts (all over), from Europe to Key West, and fr...
Steaminess Rating
Not even close to steamy.