Along the poem we can see the fish fighting to survive, however in the end the sea

finishes expelling him to the surface, which is a representation of his death. No matter
how hard he tries to prevail, such fight is meaningless, it is a lost war. The sea is a
constant war where it always wins and it is immutable, as it cannot be changed, it is a
cycle.

Here the fish is at the end of the battle where it will be defined if he lives or dies but the
sea always wins because it is immutable, constant and stable, and when it says
“Jawbone did not laugh” it deromanticizes the cycle of life and shows how he did not
surrender in his battle for survival. It continues with the word “But” which remarks a
contrast that conveys the idea that to untempt to fight is useless and the repetition of
the word “gripped” expresses a serious tone that highlights helplessness while trying to
survive and stresses the fighting. Finally, the poem finishes with “now a cenotaph”
which is a metaphor that represents the harsh reality and the power of nature. These
last words also convey the idea of the fish dying at war, as it was compared to a soldier
who dies at war and as the body is not found they do this cenotaph in the case of the
fish only his Jawbone.