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An essay about figurative language
The fish analysis essay
An essay about figurative language
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A poem without any complications can force an author to say more with much less. Although that may sound quite cliché, it rings true when one examines “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop. Elizabeth’s Bishop’s poem is on an exceedingly straightforward topic about the act of catching a fish. However, her ability to utilize thematic elements such as figurative language, imagery and tone allows for “The Fish” to be about something greater. These three elements weave themselves together to create a work of art that goes beyond its simple subject.
The first element to analyze when looking at “The Fish” is figurative language. The reader is drawn to this element because of its heavy emphasis throughout the poem. Elizabeth Bishop profusely uses similes with the intention of heightening the sensation of fishing. She writes:
[...] Here and there his brown skin hung in strips like ancient wallpaper, and its pattern of darker brown was like wallpaper: shapes like full blown roses (9-14)
In six lines of poetry the author is able to cram three similes all comparing the outer look of a fish to wallpaper. As anyone who has held a trout or a salmon can attest to the natural colors on these animals are not necessarily the brightest. A very good word to describe the browns on a fish are “drab” which makes wallpaper an excellent comparison for multiple reasons. First off, the comparison creates an accurate picture for the readers’ imagination of what the actual caught fish in the poem looks like. Secondly, and arguably more importantly, using the word “wallpaper” helps create a connection for the reader between boringness and objects from the domestic sphere. Throughout her entire poem, Elizabeth Bishop champions nature’s beauty through her...
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...m the “battered and venerable and homely” fish is now a decorated war hero who has fought many battles. The speaker always had respect for the fish but at the end her admiration is so outstanding that she feels obligated to honor it. The final declaration is, “And I let the fish go” (76). This is the culmination of all the previous dialogue and shows the speaker’s utmost respect for the fish and how it would be inhumane of her to kill it.
“The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop is an excellent poem that goes beyond its straightforward subject. She vividly describes the act of catching a fish while also utilizing the thematic elements of figurative language, imagery and tone to bring many more ideas into the picture. Overall “The Fish” is a poem that champions the beauty of nature while also putting forth a negative connotation on all things artificial through a simple topic.
The poem begins with many examples of imagery and reveals an important role of the meaning of the poem. In the first four lines of the poem, Jeffers uses imagery to establish his connection between him and the bay.
I am reading “The Bass, the River, and Shelia Mant” by W.D. Wetherell, The story is about a young boy trying to choose between a beautiful girl and his passion of fishing. In this journal, I will be questioning and evaluating.
Wetherell, W.D. "The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant." Responding to Literature: Stories, Poems, Plays, and Essays. Fourth Edition. Ed. Judith A. Stanford. Boston: McGrawHill, 2003. 191-196.
uncovers the truth about the fish, and how it and its environment was abused by the old
William Faulkner overwhelms his audience with the visual perceptions that the characters experience, making the reader feel utterly attached to nature and using imagery how a human out of despair can make accusations. "If I jump off the porch I will be where the fish was, and it all cut up into a not-fish now. I can hear the bed and her face and them and I can...
Throughout Daniel Wallace’s novel, Big Fish, Edward Bloom encompasses the meaning of the title. He is immortalized through the many tall tales he has shared with his son, Will. The stories are a depiction of a man who is larger than life, someone who is too big for a small town. Edwards passion for being remembered and loved followed him to his deathbed, where he passed on his stories to his son. The term “Big Fish” is used to reference the magnificence of Edwards life, and is an embodiment of the larger than life stories that he passes down to Will.
The short story explains the sustainability of life, how a negativity of a relationship can help one relate to the smallest symbolic things. The lesson of sustainability of life is more than just the life of the Fish. It was more upon the relationship between the parents. The owner of the fish was small and would not care for the fish, making the mother take care of it Reminiscing of her childhood fish; the mother also remembers how her father dumped her childhood fish in a Michigan river. The mother of the little boy still kept her act together even after the infidelity of her husband. She would compare it to her parent’s relationship. In a way, the negativity of both relationships made her compare her life to the fish in the tank. The mother “… felt awe at the fact that life was sustainable even under the most abhorrent conditions.” She felt that the fish was most likely going through the same stuff she was going through with her husband. After seeing Fish’s tank dirty, the little boy told his mother and assumed the fish was dead, little did he know the fish was not dead and that mother had cleaned the tank and moved it to the living room after signing the last papers of her divorce and saying farewell to her ex husband. At the end they all carried the fish “… where with a soft patter of congratulatory applause they’ll present Fish with a new home, right next to the television set.” She in a way explained Fish’s new life in a positive way ad for her life shall be the same. Overall the story compares to the human’s life and a fish’s life both very different, but in a way more similar than one can imagine. The topic of adultery is harsh, and the way individuals take it can either be calm or crazy. In my opinion she took her divorce calm and made her have a certain type of love back into her life. It is bazar to think that a fish’s situation gave the
Initially the reader is bombarded with an intense image of the fish; he is "tremendous," "battered," "venerable," and "homely." The reader is sympathetic with the fish's situation, and can relate because everyone has been fishing. Next, Bishop compares the fish to familiar household objects: "here and there / his brown skin hung in strips / like ancient wallpaper, / and its pattern of darker brown / was like wallpaper;" she uses two similes with common objects to create sympathy for the captive. Bishop then goes on to clearly illustrate what she means by "wallpaper": "shapes like full-blown roses / stained and lost through age." She uses another simile here paired with descriptive phrases, and these effectively depict a personal image of the fish. She uses the familiar "wallpaper" comparison because it is something the readers can relate to their own lives. Also the "ancient wallpaper" analogy can refer to the fish's age. Although faded and aged he withstood the test of time, like the wallpaper. Bishop uses highly descriptive words like "speckled" and "infested" to create an even clearer mental picture. The word "terrible" is used to describe oxygen, and this is ironic because oxygen is usually beneficial, but in the case of the fish it is detrimental. The use of "terrible" allows the reader to visualize the fish gasping for breaths and fighting against the "terrible oxygen," permitting us to see the fish's predicament on his level. The word frightening does essentially the same thing in the next phrase, "the frightening gills." It creates a negative image of something (gills) usually considered favorable, producing an intense visual with minimal words. Another simile is used to help the reader picture the fish's struggle: "coarse white flesh packed in like feathers." This wording intensifies the reader's initial view of the fish, and creates a visual, again, on the reader's level.
In fact, the fish story has become a metaphor reflecting the technique used by Finney for expressing the difficult thing beautifully, to compress a poem choosing what should be kept in a poem and what should be thrown away (Finney, “Interview with: Nikky Finney”), to express whatever difficult feelings she has without much noise or rage. Finney sees activism as a basic part of her work.
At the beginning of the poem, the speaker starts by telling the reader the place, time and activity he is doing, stating that he saw something that he will always remember. His description of his view is explained through simile for example “Ripe apples were caught like red fish in the nets of their branches” (Updike), captivating the reader’s attention
The poet seems to share the same pain with the fish, observing the scene and enjoying the detail just like enjoying an artwork. The poet lets the fish go because she is totally touched by the process between life and death; she loves life but, meanwhile, is deeply hurt by the life. In the poem, the fish has no fear towards her; the desire to live is in the moving and tragic details when she faces the death.
The collections of stories, “Big Fish” has an interesting take on the theme of storytelling. The book includes multiple tellings of a the death of Williams Bloom’s Father. William tells his father's death takes to bring dimension to their relationship. On the surface, he provides more information about the life, and eventual death, of his father. The death takes provide an multidimensional view on the value of William's relationship with his father and the theme of storytelling, as the detail along with comedic and mythic qualities become amplified with every telling.
The descriptive elements in The Yellow Wallpaper do a tremendous amount towards enhancing the reader's perception of the particular kind of insanity that afflicts the narrator. The descriptions, most notably of the wallpaper itself, are multi-sensory, artful and detailed. Using metaphorical images, and surprising combinations of words, the narrator gives numerous ways for readers to experience the wallpaper. In the line regarding the wallpaper: "...they connect diagonaly, and the sprawling outlines run off in great slanting waves of optic horror, like a lot of wallowing seaweeds in full chase." The word pairings of 'optic horror' and the similie are unusual and sensory. This serves to peak the reader's interest and more effectively draw the reader into the description.
It is ironic that the author chose a color so bright and usually defined as being a happy and joyful color. However, this story is not at all joyful, but instead is very depressing and sad. The wallpaper is described in such great detail that is very easy for the reader to picture exactly what the author is trying to
...nizes the fish because, just like the fish, people fight daily battles to survive in life. This humanization of the fish enables the speaker to relate and respect him, and therefore, ultimately leads to his release.