What is the figurative language, symbolism, and imagery in Amy Lowell's "The Taxi?"

Figurative language is descriptive language not meant to
be taken literally.  An example is a simile, where two unlike things are compared using
comparison words such as “like” and a metaphor, which is a comparison saying that one
thing is something else.  A symbol stands for something, and means more than it
literally means.  Let’s look at the first line for some
examples:

When
I go away from you
The world beats dead
Like a slackened
drum.

In this line, “the
world beats dead/like a slackened drum” is a simile.  The world is being compared to a
drum, and it is a simile because it uses the word “like”
here.

As the poem continues, here is another
example:

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Streets coming fast,
One after the
other,
Wedge you away from
me 

This is an example of
personification, which is figurative language where something not alive is given
human-like qualities.  Here, the streets are described as human.  Streets are “coming”
and “wedge” but streets cannot actually move or create real
separation. 

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 And the lamps of the city prick my
eyes
So that I can no longer see your
face.

This is an example of a
metaphor, since lamps are not literally pricking the eye.  It is also imagery, which is
when something is described using one of the five senses.  In this case, the visual
nature of the lamplight is being described.

Symbolism is
when something stands for something else.  In this poem, the taxi is a symbol of
separation.  The speaker interprets the taxi as a destructive force, removing her loved
one.