Filling Station

Oh, but it is dirty!

-- this little filling station,
oil-soaked, oil-permeated
to a disturbing, over-all
black translucency.
Be careful with that match!

Father wears a dirty,

oil-soaked monkey suit
that cuts him under the arms,
and several quick and saucy
and greasy sons assist him
(it's a family filling station),
all quite thoroughly dirty.

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?
(Embroidered in daisy stitch
with marguerites, I think,
and heavy with gray crochet.)

Somebody embroidered the doily.

Somebody waters the plant,
or oils it, maybe. Somebody
arranges the rows of cans
so that they softly say:
ESSO--SO--SO--SO
to high-strung automobiles.
Somebody loves us all.

Glossary of words
*oil-permeated: soaked through with oil
*translucency: shine/gloss
*monkey suit: overalls
*doily:decorative cloth put under bowls.

*taboret: small stool

*hirsute: hairy
*begonia: flowering plant

*extraneous: unnecessary
*daisy stitch: type of design in crochet
*marguerites: daisies

Stanza one
Bishop begins this verse by trying to make sense of the
strange sights she greets at the filling station. Without
question the verse begins with a judgemental tone. ‘ Oh,
but it is dirty!/ -- this little filling station ‘ The poet is
sounding slightly shocked at the pervasive dirt and oily
grime of the filling station. Her use of an exclamation
mark highlights the startling nature of the all-
encompassing filth, as does her repetition of the word
'dirty' which really drives the message home. On the
other hand the use of ‘ little ‘ in describing the filling
station presents a cosy scene, almost cuteness and
sounds affectionate. Despite this, Bishop continues to
describe the ways in which the filling station is dirty,
specifically that every surface is covered in oil. She
presents three descriptions in synonym form ending in
‘ black translucency ‘ Her light-hearted note, that a
carelessly thrown match would be fatal throws humour
on what is to her a somewhat foreign scene.
synonym:
a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the
same language, for example shut is a synonym of close.

Stanza two
Bishop’s reference to dirt continues on into the second
stanza, and in her introduction to who it belongs to
begins, that is, who runs the filling station. Her
approach or attitude is refreshing and playful. We learn
that it is a father and several sons who run the business.
Father wears a filthy pair of overalls or dungarees that
don't fit him any more; his sons are ' quick and saucy ',
one critic says that ‘ his sons work quickly and are fond
of making sexuallly loaded jokes ’ and all of them are '
quite thoroughly dirty '. Having been initially taken aback
by the dirt of the filling station, Bishop now begins to
observe it more closely. She evidently enjoys the energy
and the bustle of the scene. Her stance of observation
becomes clearer.

Stanza three
She wonders if the men live in the station. There is a
certain incredulity to this fact that maybe people might
live here, then, she pays close attention. One can’t help
but notice that her eye is like a camera picking up each
and every small detail. She pays notice to some
evidence of a family existence, a set of ‘ grease
impregnated wickerwork ‘, wicker furniture on the porch
and a dirty dog lying on the couch. We the reader feel
that in her thoughts there is no escaping the grease, the
oil and the dirt. Without doubt she is somewhat ruffled
that they all seem at home in this grimy environment.
She describes the dog as being ' quite comfy ' this
brings a homely element.The alliterative ‘d’s of ‘ dirty
dog ‘ adds and implicates touches of liveliness and
playfulness. One cannot but consider that the dog is as
dirty as its’ surroundings.

Stanza four and five

( it is easier to put these together as they hold similar
features and characteristics in the poem )
The following two stanzas bring our attention to a
potential woman’s touch which can be possibly felt in the
filling station and its surroundings when closer attention
is paid. Moments of her awareness add up. she begins
to wonder, whilst there are some comics that draw the
eye towards their colour, she queries: why on earth in
such a grimy, unprepossessing (Not attractive or appealing to the
eye OED ) place as the filling station should there be a
potted begonia, a taboret (a little stool) acting as a side
table and - above all - why there should be a doily
under: this puzzles her. She is bemused by what she
sees, exasperated to a certain point. She describes the
doily in more detail. It is dim, but it's embellishment,
crocheted and embroidered with daisy stitch puzzles our
onlooker. The verse presents observing all of these
feminine touches in a very much contrasting masculine
dominated surround. Such a pretty and delicate item is
out of keeping with the rest of the place. This is further
contrasted, to an extent though the presentation of ‘ a
hirsute begonia ‘ which translates is a hairy one. Her eye
is caught by this incongruous (Not in harmony or keeping with the
surroundings or other aspects of something.OED) sight. This
hairiness is perhaps comparable to the fathers
indeterminable number of sons who obviously share the
the same character.
Incongruity ( this is a word tank word for this verse )

Stanza six
She stares in amazement, wonders why there is an
embroidered doily and who waters or, she jokes, oils the
plant. These curious items mark a moment of epiphany.
The implication that it is a woman, more so there is a
woman? Perhaps it is the wife and mother of the family
who has taken time to beautify the oil splattered filling
station.The speaker is amazed that such effort was
extended in such a filthy place. Even the cans of oil are
arranged carefully, facing the same way so that the word
'Esso' is to the front of all of them. When the words on
the cans are read aloud they say, 'ESSO-SO-SO-SO'
which sounds soothing and in the past might have been
said to highly-strung horses to calm them down. Now
the words only spoken to 'highly strung automobiles'
but the impression of care and attention is there
nonetheless. As Bishop says in the final line, ‘Somebody
loves us all.’ This assures us that everybody gets loves
from somewhere.

FYI - a summary
The woman (we assume it is a woman, a mother, a wife)
who tries to make this place a home may also be
responsible for arranging the oil cans ‘so’ carefully. The
sibilance (repeated 's' sounds) in the final stanza add
greatly to the musical quality of the poem and reinforce
the impression of loving, soothing care. There is an
interesting mix of styles in this poem: the relaxed
conversational way in which Bishop warns us to be
careful with that match and the description of the dog as
'quite comfy' contrast with her exact, poetic language at
other times, for example the 'over-all black translucency'
of the station and the doily ‘heavy with gray crochet’.
There is kindness and humour in the poem: Bishop
suggests the plant may well be oiled instead of watered.
The language is never cruel; Bishop is startled by the
dirt but quickly sees beyond it to the loving touches, to
somebodys attempt to bring order and beauty to such an
unlikely place.

The tone
Phonetics, which is the study of the reception and
perception of speech sounds by the listener is very
evident in this verse. The tone of voice as opposed to
the tone of this poem is conversational, light hearted
and ultimately optimistic. Bishop shocked at the dirt of
the station initially but on closer observation, sees the
little homey touches and is cheered by this evidence of
love and care.

Theme and subject

Bishop is perhaps trying to suggest that although each
of us live perhaps always or at times, in disarray and
turmoil there can be that small part in us that still
searches for hope and normalcy.
The speaker is telling us that things are not always as
they seem. That people should not be so quick to judge
others based on their appearances. The narrator is
quick to judge the station and the men and then realises
that there is more to it than she originally thought.

Poetic techniques
Imagery - S1 ‘oil soaked’ and ‘oil permeated’ this
appeals to the reader’s senses.
Metaphor - S2 ‘ oil soaked monkey suit ‘
Alliteration - S2 ‘ family filling’ station
S4 ‘ big dim doily
S5 ‘ softly say ‘

Personification - S3 ‘ grease impregnated wickerwork ‘

S4 ‘ a big hirsute begonia. ‘ hirsute means hairy
Repetition -S5 ‘somebody’ in the last stanza and ‘SO-
SO-SO’

Girls, below is another interpretation

( pasted and copied ) It is better than above ! there are
great references below to sound and metaphoric
language.
I have underlined what I consider to be relevant and
useful in your interpretation.
Elizabeth Bishop’s skill as a poet can be clearly seen in
the thought- provoking poem entitled Filling Station.
She paints the different language levels of poetry with
the skill of an artist– she seems to have an eye for detail
as she contrasts the dark and dim reference of a filling
station to a more homey, pleasant atmosphere.

Bishop aptly arranges her words and expressions

through the language devices of voice and metaphor. In
Filling Station, Bishop uses tone of voice brilliantly,
through the use of phonetics, to create the poem’s initial
atmosphere. The opening seems to be offering a
straightforward description of the filling station: “Oh, but
it is dirty!/ -this little filling station,/ oil-soaked, oil-
permeated/ to a disturbing, over-all/ black
translucency”. A closer inspection of the passage
reveals quite a visual oil-soaked picture. This is created
in large part by the oily sounds themselves. When
spoken out-loud the diphthong [oi] in oil creates a
diffusion of sound around the mouth that physically
spreads the oil sound around the passage.

An interesting seepage can also be clearly seen when

looking specifically at the words “oil-soaked”, “oil-
permeated” and “grease- impregnated”. These words
connect the [oi] in oily with the word following it and
heighten the spreading of the sound. Moreover, when
studying the [oi] atmosphere throughout the poem the
[oi] in doily and embroidered seems to particularly stand
out.

The oozing of the grease in the filling station moves to

each new stanza with the mention of these words: In
the fourth stanza, “big dim doily”, to the second last
stanza, “why, oh why, the doily? /Embroidered” to the
last stanza, “somebody embroidered the doily”. Whereas
the [oi] sound created an oily sound of language
throughout the poem, the repetitive [ow] sound achieves
a very different syntactical feature. The cans which
“softly say: /ESSO–SO–SO–SO” create a wind-like
blowing effect from the mouth. Each SO allows for a
sort of visual metaphor to be seen– cars or the
personified “high-strung automobiles” as they pass on
by. 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. In-between the oozing effect
of the oil, the reader is drawn to the sharp clicking of the
[k] in words like “comfy”, “crochet”, “comic”,”color” and
“cans”. Bishop seems to be paying special attention to
these words as the words themselves have 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 suggest a kind, comfortable atmosphere.

Bishop’s attention to the sense of sound throughout the

poem aids with the metaphoric meaning (characteristic
of or relating to metaphor ) of the poem as a whole. 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.
Combining the oily nature (ie- “oil-soaked” and “oil-
permeated”) and the depressing concreteness (ie-
“cement porch” and “grease-impregnated wickerwork”)
the reader prepares for a very somber and even corrupt
storyline. Oil and concrete are usually associated with
the spoiling of the natural, wholesome environment.
The reader is then introduced to the type of character
thought to inhabit an environment of this nature: a
“Father wears a dirty,/ oil-soaked monkey suit” and
“greasy sons assist him”. At this point Bishop shifts the
metaphoric meaning of the poem with the introduction of
the word “comfy”. Although the dog is “dirty” or “oil-
soaked” it does not seem to mind the surroundings. Oil
is still very much part of the atmosphere but its effect is
not as disastrous.
If a match was lit, as warned in the line “be careful with
that match!” it would not be as lethal as suggested.
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 add to a much homier
environment. Someone seems to have taken great care
and pride into preserving what little cleanliness they can
manage as, afterall, “somebody embroidered the doily”
and “somebody waters the plant”. Although still
somewhat out of place in this filling station these
cheerful additions are really what make the station.

Even a wild and foreign plant like that of the begonia

finds a home among the family’s guardianship. Although
in reality this family lives in the run-down station they,
themselves do not have to actually become the station.

We each need a “comfy” filling station. And although

judgmental onlookers, or as Bishop writes the “high-
strung automobiles”, may only want to see the dirtiness
of an individual character, a family or situation, they
need to realize that if they look deep enough, light will
shine through. “Somebody loves us all” if we are only
to give the thought and time. Afterall, even an
automobile needs oil every once in a while to continue
down its path. In conclusion, it can be clearly seen that
Elizabeth Bishop in the poem Filling Station has
wonderfully played with different levels of language like
voice and metaphor. The reader becomes actively
involved in questioning their own filling station and the
care they give toward it.