Elizabeth Bishop, who was famous for the poetry AProdigal, FillingStation , Sandpiper, Manuelzinho and so on, was an influential(有影响的) American poet of the 20th century. Her poetry often shows things that concerned her throughout her life, such as her search for a sense of home. Her troubled childhood and feelings of loneliness from this time affected her character and poetry.

    Bishop's painful childhood is apparent(显面易见的) in some of her poems. Her father died when she was eight months old and her mother was mad when she was five. Bishop was raised firstly by her mother's parents and then by her father's parents. This experience left her confused about belonging. She had no home and this was shown in her poetry. In “AProdigal”， when the character in the poem makes up his mind to go home, there is a sense of pessimism for Bishop who has no home. The lack of a sense of home has contributed to her depression(消沉) all her life.

    Bishop attempts(企图) to make small, everyday experiences extraordinary in her poems such as “FillingStation”. In “FillingStation”， Bishop describes the beauty of a family filling station. Although it is “dirty” there is order in it. Simple family life is celebrated in it. She recognizes the value of home and beauty in everyday life, but she is only an observer of these. Distance remains between her and the family at the filling station.

    Bishop's struggle to locate herself in the world is seen no more clearly than in “Sandpiper”. It deals with searching for something in a confusing world. She uses the metaphor(暗喻) of the bird which is “looking for something”. The “something” isn't specific(特殊的). It seems as if the bird doesn't know what he wants; the only certain thing is that he is searching.

    Bishop's poems are personal on a more subtle (巧妙的)level, especially when her childhood, travels, etc, are taken into consideration. It is believed that Bishop is a complex(复杂的)poet who uses her poetry to find this feeling of belonging.