THE FISH

1. How does the speaker hold the fish at the beginning of the poem?
Beside the boat, halfway out of water. Her hook is caught in a corner of its
mouth.
2. Explain, “He didn’t fight. He hadn’t fought at all”.
The speaker says that as she was pulling in the fish, it did not fight at all. If it
had fought, then it could've broken the line and escaped. Although the fish did
not fight, it had heavy weight which was a different kind of resistance.
3. What is surprising about the fish?
Though the fish is battered, it is venerable and homely. The fish reacts as if it
were something he had already experienced before.
4. How are the eyes of the fish different from the eyes of the speaker?
The speaker notices that his eyes are much larger than hers, but they are also
"shallower" and yellower.
5. Identify the figure of speech used in the phrase “tarnished tinfoil”.
Alliteration
6. What does “rainbow” symbolise in the poem?
It represents victory for both the fish and its capturer, but a different kind of
victory. Five people before her had a similar moment.
7. What does the expression “sun-cracked thwarts” refer to?
The seats for the rowers of the boats. They are cracked by the intense heat of
sun.
8. Why did the speaker let the fish go at the end of the poem?
The speaker realises that five people before her had undergone the same
experience. They were all influenced to release the fish back into the water.
The fish did not fight either.In that moment of realization, she let the fish go.

Answer the following in a paragraph.

1. What are the poetic devices used in the poem?
There is no rhyme scheme. But, there are moments of rhyme as in the words
"caught" and "fought." The poet personifies the fish by addressing it as “he”.
‘Repetition’ appears in words such as "rusted" and "stared." ‘Alliteration’ is
used in "tarnished tinfoil." The poet also uses simile, as in “like ancient
wallpaper”. In the first four lines, Bishop uses the device of ‘enjambment’.
‘Anaphora’, (repetition of a word at the beginning of phrases for effect) is used
with “He’ in lines 5-7.
2. Comment on the use of domestic images in the poem.
The fish is said to be "battered," "venerable," and "homely." Otherhousehold
images: "here and there / his brown skin hung in strips / like ancient wallpaper,
/ and its pattern of darker brown / was like wallpaper." The eyes of the fish are
larger than the poet’s eyes. The flesh, bones and entrails of the fish give us a
domestic atmosphere.
3. What is the message of the poem?
In the poem “The Fish,” Elizabeth Bishop demonstrates her ecological
sensibility and acceptance of a coexisting relationship between humans and
other species. She lets the fish go, which reflects the poem's ecological
understanding. The poem illustrates how that empathy can be humbling. It
reminds people that even though they appear to be distinct from animals,
they're really in the same boat. Animals and humans alike take part in all the
mess, struggle, and beauty of life. Humans and animals struggle alike to
survive. The poem calls upon people to love nature and all its creatures.
4. How is the fish described in the poem?
Elizabeth Bishop describes the fish as tremendous, battered, venerable and
homely. Its body is infested with small sea creatures. It has five fishing hooks
with the lines still partially attached to its lower jaw. It doesn’t try to escape.
His broken skin hangs in strips like dark brown ancient wallpaper. It has shapes
like full blown roses stained and lost through age. The gills are fresh and crisp
with blood. The white flesh of the fish is packed in like feathers. He has big
bones and little bones. His entrails are red and black and shiny. Its eyes are
larger than the speaker’s.
5. Comment on the setting of the poem.
"The Fish" takes place in an old boat on an unidentified body of water. This
beautiful setting of nature is an ideal place for a poem like this. The speaker
doesn't make any direct references to the environment. She focuses very
closely on the fish she has just pulled out of the water. Towards the end of the
poem, the speaker's attention shifts from the fish to the interior of the boat. A
sheen of oil on the water's surface reflects light in a vibrant rainbow pattern.
The speaker's close focus on the fish and the boat creates a sense of
immediacy and intimacy.
6. Discuss the change in attitude of the speaker towards the fish.
The speaker caught a tremendous fish, and she was very proud of it. She held it
beside the boat, half out of water. The fish didn’t fight. It was battered,
venerable, and homely. The speaker observes the fish very closely, its outer
skin, gills, everything. She noticed five hooks sticking to its lower jaw. Suddenly
she felt a sort of kinship with the fish. She realised that five people before her
had undergone the same experience. They were all influenced to release the
fish back into the water. In that moment of realization, she let the fish go.