Analysis of "Filling Station" by Elizabeth Bishop

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Poets use many literary devices to extend the meaning of poetry they are writing. It not only extends the meaning, but also gives a better overall feeling of how the poem should be interpreted. One example of literary devices is the use of imagery. Imagery is a collective sense of images given throughout the meaning of the poem itself. A great poem that shows the use of imagery is the poem by Elizabeth Bishop, Filling Station. The poem Filling Station is a poem about a person, possibly the writer, who visits a small town gas station. At this gas station she notices different aspects and describes how the look of the gas station gives its own personality. One example of this is when the poem states, ."..-this little filling station, oil-soaked, oil-permeated to a disturbing, over-all black translucency. Be careful with that match!" This gives an image of a dark and gloomy area with black suds of oil sitting all around the gas station. She makes the image clear by stating that the oil is translucent black, which means it is fresh or recently used. Elizabeth Bishop creates picture ...

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