An Analysis Of The Poem 'The Fish'

Understanding ‘The Fish’

Essay

In the poem ‘The Fish’, the use of short lines and the presence of enjambments indicate that the poet, Bishop, is giving her own thoughts. This form of poetry gives the impression that the poet is not simply writing the words on a piece of paper but is rather speaking them out loud. The poem is presented in a way that the audience feels as if the poet was present at the scene and was narrating the events that occurred throughout the poem (Bishop 463). The poem is also written as a single stanza. The decision to write it this way may have been in an attempt to portray the long ordeal that fishermen engage in when fishing. In doing so, bishop is able to prepare the audience for the poem and to make sure

She describes it as being terrible so as to help the audience visualize how the fish gasped for breath and fought against the oxygen. The fish’s gills were also described as being frightening despite the role they play in safeguarding its survival. The descriptions help to create an image of the fish and how big it was so that the audience can understand what an achievement the narrator had done in catching it. Describing it as having “coarse white flesh packed in like feathers” (Bishop 463) intensifies the views that the audience has of the fish to a level where they can relate to the events that were occurring in the

The survival of the fish is thus seen as the endurance of nature and its ability to persevere despite the adverse challenges that may occur. It is also a statement demonstrating that despite humans’ various harmful activities, nature will always emerge victorious and continue thriving. Out of either bravery or wisdom, the fish did not put up a fight when caught by the narrator (Bishop 464). This may have been as a result of its various encounters with fishermen. In its old beaten up state, the narrator would have felt sympathetic and simply let the fish go. Its body was also in a bad condition, filled with strings and wires. The narrator was able to grasp the concept that, no matter how badly human beings abused nature, it would still continue to thrive like the fish had