In the poem “People on the Bridge,” the first notable literary device is perhaps the repetition of the word “they” in the opening stanza. The second line, for example, reads, “They’re subject to time, but they won’t admit it.” Syzmborska is referring to human beings here, and by repeatedly referring to them as “they,” she creates the impression that human beings are a strange, alien race, and she, the narrator, is a curious observer studying them from a distance.

Later in the poem, Syzmborska uses personification when she writes that “time has tripped and fallen down.” Syzmborska personifies time here to emphasize the idea that the people she is studying seem to have frozen in time. It is, of course, easier for the reader to imagine a personified form of time falling and stopping than it is for the reader to imagine time as an abstract concept grinding to a halt.

In the final stanza, Syzmborska draws upon sensory imagery to convey an impression of the scene she is describing. She describes the “rain’s spatter,” and the “cold drops on their necks.” These are sounds and sensations that we, the readers, can easily empathize with, and, in turn, we are drawn into the scene more easily.

The poem is also written in free verse, meaning that there is no pattern of rhyme or meter and no regular syllabic meter. This free verse form creates the impression that this is a spontaneous monologue and perhaps emphasizes the idea that the observations in the poem are the objective, almost-scientific observations of a removed, distant narrator.