Introduction
This paper would discuss and evaluate literary traits found in the poem The Fish by Elizabeth Bishop. The focus would be on her tone and particular moral concerns expressed by her in the poem.
Elizabeth Bishop’s “The Fish” Elizabeth Bishop is a poetess that is often admired for her vivid descriptive poetry. Many critics admire Bishop’s objectivity because she was interested in viewing details spontaneously, without imposed rationalizations, in the manner of a naturalist. Bishop is also known for writing poems about ordinary experiences that convey subtle revelations. The poetess’s’ observation in this poem not only creates an image of the fish for the reader, but it also expands the scope of the poet’s appreciation for the fish. “The Fish” is a narrative poem in which the poetess discovers the beauty in nature. While the poem seems to be about the simple experience of catching a fish, it turns out to be much more. The poetess sets the tone of the poem by using very short line lengths. This represents the poet’s short thoughts she experienced while fishing. This structure also captures our attention.
Main body
Perhaps the most striking feature of this poem is the poet’s careful attention to detail. For example, we are told, “He didn’t fight. /He hadn’t fought at all” (5-6). This causes us to feel sympathy for the fish almost immediately. Additionally, the poetess tells us the fish was “battered and venerable/and homely” (7-8). An example of the poet’s use of simile can be seen when we are told the fish’s “brown skin hung in strips/like ancient wallpaper,” (10-11) and was shaped “like full-brown roses/stained and lost through age (14-15). These images present us with a fish that is old and worn who no longer has the strength to fight for life.
The poet’s discovery that the fish is old has an effect on her. She begins to notice other aspects of the fish as well. For instance, the fish is covered with “white sea-lice” (19) and its gills were “fresh and crisp and filled with blood” (25). The poetess also observes the fish’s eyes, which are “far larger”, than hers and: shallower, and yellowed, the irises backed and packed with tarnish tinfoil seen through the lenses of old scratched isinglass. (36-40) She begins to see the fish as more and more of an equal individual. She tells us that she “admired his sullen face” (47). This is a vivid image and to the poetess they represent gallant expressions of survival for the fish. This is clear when the poetess tells us that the lines were like: medals with their ribbons frayed and wavering, a five-haired beard of wisdom trailing from his aching jaw. (61-64)The lines become symbols of victory and because the fish has managed to survive, they make him a wise fish. Again, the fish has become more of a fish in the poet’s eyes. He is now a warrior that has survived the danger of human hands five times. They are reminders of a fighter of a fish. We also become more aware of the poet’s respect for the fish with these lines. Interestingly, the poetess imagines the fish’s pain when she thinks of his jaw.
At this point in the poem, the tone shifts from one of sympathy to one of admiration. The fish is no longer seen as an animal that is defeated but one that has overcome tremendous difficulty. Because of this change, the poet’s opinion of catching the fish also changes. In the beginning of the poem, the fish is a “tremendous” (1) fish and one she might be proud of catching. After she examines the fish, her entire concept about fishing has changed.
For example, she tells us, “victory filled up/the little rented boat” (66-7). In addition, the poet’s seems to view everything differently after catching the fish. The puddle of oil that steels on the water beside the boat “spread a rainbow/around the engine” (69-70). This image coupled with the feeling of admiration for the fish creates a moment of epiphany for the poetess and she exclaims, “rainbow, rainbow, rainbow!” (75). Her moments with the fish ultimately cause her to release the fish. In many ways, the poet, who had probably intended to spend a day fishing, was surprised to find that fishing is more than it seems. She experiences a battle when she has the choice of keeping the fish or releasing it back into the water. The poet’s encounter with the fish does not allow her to take the fish’s life or freedom away.
The symbol of the rainbow is significant in this poem. The word itself conjures up images of rapture. The poetess first allows us to see the rainbow in the water. The magical nuances of rainbows are also associated with positive emotions. The rainbow is the perfect setting for the poetess to release her feelings of accomplishment from catching the fish and replace them with a sense of awe. Her sense of awe is powerful and her only choice is to let the fish go.
The focus on the fish’s physical structure denotes the fish’s lack of spirit yet it is this very lifelessness that gives the fish the human emotions of apathy and hopelessness. Through the personification of the fish, the poetess shows the speaker’s projection of lack of spirit and hope onto the fish. In contrast, the speaker’s discovery of past hooks imbedded into the fish’s mouth gives him the persona of a fallen war hero who has survived many battles in the past. The speaker’s perception then changes from one of lifelessness to one of courage and animation, denoted by the admiration in the speaker’s tone. Upon seeing the frayed lines, she uses verbs of action and struggle as she imagines the fish fighting and breaking the line. Thus, the poetess’s comparison of the lines to ribbons furthers the fish’s appearance as a hero retaining the medals of his victory.
In The Fish, Bishop transforms an old fish the speaker caught into a glorious figure of reverence. Bishop uses personification and analogies to set up the fish as dejected and lacking in spirit. However, the speaker’s perception changes and tone is markedly more of admiration while symbolism is added as the remains of the fish’s struggle become the trophies of victory. By employing personification and symbolism, Bishop uses figurative language to denote the speaker’s changing understanding of the fish.
Conclusion
In conclusion, “The Fish” is a poem that reflects Elizabeth Bishop’s ability as a poet. She observes the beauty in nature through the simple act of catching a fish. Bishop employs several literary techniques such as metaphor, symbolism, personification, and imagery to convey her experience. In the poem, we can see the picture of the fish is dotted with many vivid colors: pink of roses, white of tiny sea-lice, green of weed, reds and blacks of big bones and little bones, yellow of the eyes. By using many colors, the poetess wanted to emphasize the ambiguous image of the fish. The poetess expresses her feeling: “I looked into his eyes/which were far larger than mine” “I admired his sullen face, /the mechanism of his jaw.” (34-45) Through this passionate diction, a tone of esteem is fashioned. The eyes were described by using many highly descriptive words, with strong relation, like “tinfoil,” “lenses,” “isinglass”. It helps readers a lot when trying to imagine what the poetess writes.
Work Cited
Bishop, Elizabeth. “The Fish” Contemporary American Poetry: Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 1980.