The speaker of Elizabeth Bishop's "Filling Station" describes a seemingly derelict gas station and the dirty, "greasy" family running it. Though first struck only by the station's thick layer of grime, the speaker soon begins to notice homey, decorative details that suggest that the family lives there and that "Somebody" is taking tender care of things. This realization, in turn, pushes the speaker to reflect that love exists in even the most ordinary, uninspiring places. "Filling Station" was published in Bishop's third poetry collection, Questions of Travel, in 1965.

• Read the full text of “Filling Station”

• “Filling Station” Summary

• “Filling Station” Themes

  • 

    Judgment, Curiosity, and Empathy

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 1-41
  • 

    The Reality and Universality of Love

    Where this theme appears in the poem:

    • Lines 7-13
    • Lines 19-20
    • Lines 23-41

• Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Filling Station”

  • Lines 1-6

    Oh, but it ...
    ... with that match!

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 7-13

    Father wears a ...
    ... quite thoroughly dirty.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 14-20

    Do they live ...
    ... dog, quite comfy.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 21-27

    Some comic books ...
    ... big hirsute begonia.

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 28-33

    Why the extraneous ...
    ... with gray crochet.)

    

    

    

    

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  • Lines 34-41

    Somebody embroidered the ...
    ... loves us all.

    

    

    

    

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• “Filling Station” Symbols

  • 

    The Doily

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 23-25: “They lie / upon a big dim doily / draping a taboret”
    • Lines 30-34: “Why, oh why, the doily? / (Embroidered in daisy stitch / with marguerites, I think, / and heavy with gray crochet.) / Somebody embroidered the doily.”
  • 

    The Begonia

    Where this symbol appears in the poem:

    • Lines 26-28: “beside / a big hirsute begonia. / Why the extraneous plant?”
    • Lines 35-36: “Somebody waters the plant, / or oils it, maybe.”

• “Filling Station” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language

  • Repetition

    

    

    

    

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    Where repetition appears in the poem:

    • Line 1: “dirty”
    • Line 2: “filling station”
    • Line 3: “oil-soaked, oil-permeated”
    • Lines 7-8: “a dirty, / oil-soaked monkey suit”
    • Line 11: “greasy sons”
    • Line 12: “filling station”
    • Line 13: “all quite thoroughly dirty”
    • Lines 17-18: “grease- / impregnated wickerwork;”
    • Lines 19-20: “on the wicker sofa / a dirty dog”
    • Lines 22-23: “the only note of color— / of certain color”
    • Lines 24-25: “a big dim doily / draping a taboret”
    • Line 27: “a big hirsute begonia”
    • Lines 28-30: “Why the extraneous plant? / Why the taboret? / Why, oh why, the doily?”
    • Line 31: “Embroidered in daisy stitch”
    • Lines 34-35: “Somebody embroidered the doily. / Somebody waters the plant,”
    • Lines 36-37: “Somebody / arranges the rows of cans”
    • Line 39: “ESSO—SO—SO—SO”
    • Line 41: “Somebody loves us all.”

  • Anaphora

    

    

    

    

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    Where anaphora appears in the poem:

    • Lines 28-30: “Why the extraneous plant? / Why the taboret? / Why, oh why, the doily?”
    • Lines 34-35: “Somebody embroidered the doily. / Somebody waters the plant,”
    • Lines 36-37: “Somebody / arranges the rows of cans”
    • Line 41: “Somebody loves us all.”

  • Alliteration

    

    

    

    

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    Where alliteration appears in the poem:

    • Line 8: “soaked,” “suit”
    • Line 10: “several,” “saucy”
    • Line 11: “sons”
    • Line 12: “family filling,” “station”
    • Line 15: “porch”
    • Line 16: “pumps”
    • Line 20: “dirty dog,” “quite comfy”
    • Line 21: “comic”
    • Line 22: “color”
    • Lines 24-25: “dim doily / draping”
    • Line 26: “beside”
    • Line 27: “big,” “begonia”
    • Line 38: “so,” “softly say”
    • Line 39: “SO—SO—SO”
    • Line 40: “strung”

  • Sibilance

    

    

    

    

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    Where sibilance appears in the poem:

    • Line 2: “station”
    • Line 3: “soaked”
    • Line 4: “disturbing”
    • Line 5: “translucency”
    • Line 8: “soaked,” “suit”
    • Line 9: “cuts”
    • Line 10: “several,” “saucy”
    • Line 11: “greasy sons assist”
    • Line 26: “set,” “beside”
    • Line 27: “hirsute”
    • Line 38: “so,” “softly say”
    • Line 39: “ESSO—SO—SO—SO”
    • Line 40: “strung”
    • Line 41: “Somebody,” “us”

  • Imagery

    

    

    

    

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    Where imagery appears in the poem:

    • Lines 3-5
    • Lines 7-11
    • Lines 15-20
    • Lines 21-27
    • Lines 31-33
    • Lines 36-40

  • Rhetorical Question

    

    

    

    

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    Where rhetorical question appears in the poem:

    • Lines 28-30: “Why the extraneous plant? / Why the taboret? / Why, oh why, the doily?”

• “Filling Station” 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.

  • Filling station
  • Oil-permeated
  • Black translucency
  • Monkey suit
  • Saucy
  • Wickerwork/Wicker
  • Grease-impregnated
  • Doily
  • Taboret
  • Hirsute
  • Begonia
  • Extraneous
  • Daisy stitch with marguerites
  • Crochet
  • Esso
  • High-strung
  • (Location in poem: Line 2: “—this little filling station,”)

• Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Filling Station”

  • Form

  • Meter

  • Rhyme Scheme

• “Filling Station” Speaker

• “Filling Station” Setting

• Literary and Historical Context of “Filling Station”

• More “Filling Station” Resources

  • External Resources

    • The Poet's Life and Work — A biography of Bishop from the Poetry Foundation.

    • A Breakdown of Bishop's Poetic Style — A brief video introduction to Bishop's work. 

    • A Reading of the Poem — Listen to "Filling Station" read out loud. 

    • Read an Interview with the Poet — Bishop discusses her poetry and influences in this 1977 Ploughshares interview. 

  • LitCharts on Other Poems by Elizabeth Bishop

    • Crusoe in England

    • First Death in Nova Scotia

    • One Art

    • Sestina

    • The Fish

    • The Man-Moth

    • The Mountain

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