The Fish – a Poem by Elizabeth Bishop Essay

The Fish is a poem authored by Elizabeth Bishop. The author uses language to attract the attention of the readers. She also manages to express her feelings through imagery in her literary piece of work by employing similes, descriptive language, and adjectives. These literary devices culminate into a precise mental image of the occurrences in the setting.

This poem figuratively describes several events that culminate into the main message that the author communicates to the reader. The speaker describes an encounter on a fishing expedition using a rented boat. Several events culminate into the events that are finally revealed in the poem.

The speaker in the poem managed to trap a large fish. The fish is rather old since algae and barnacles are growing on its outer surface. The fish is strong and powerful enough to fight for its life. The speaker analyzes the fish and wonders how much energy the fish had used to resist being caught. The size and the age of the fish make the narrator to respect the creature.

The narrator compares herself with the fish due to the struggle that each one of them has to make in the deep waters. She acknowledges that she has been fishing for many years and the boat is symbolic of the fish. She becomes emotional and eventually lets the fish to go. If she had not taken her time to study the fish, she could have never imagined how much struggle the fish has undergone in order to avoid being trapped by fishermen for several years.

She ended up appreciating the struggle for survival undertaken by the old fish. She equates herself to the fish because both of them have been striving to survive against all odds. Her boat was old and spilling oil although it was still running. This is the moment that changed her thoughts. When she stared into the eyes of the fish, it immediately created an emotional trigger that culminated into the moment of revelation.

The narrator experienced three revelations as a result of her detailed analysis of the fish, the boat and herself. The first revelation was based on how she described the outlook of the fish. The latter was old as apparent from the outside look. However, it appeared to be rather strong. The body was covered by layers of algae and had lines of bruises presumable sustained after escaping from fishermen traps.

This created an image of the fish as a vital part of her life since it symbolized struggle to live. The fish was made to appear as an important image in the fishmonger’s life. As a result, the fishmonger ended up creating a mental picture that related the fish and real circumstances of life.

The author has largely managed to personify the fish. She uses possessive nouns such as ‘his’ that attempt to a humanly picture of the fish and how daily struggle to be alive is dominant feature. She handles the fish, looks straight into its eyes, and admires the appearance of its face and the jaws. This makes the narrator in the poem to be attracted to the fish emotionally. The emotional attachment between the fish and the narrator intensifies as she compares the struggles the fish has endured to hers.

The struggle that has been endured by the fish makes the narrator to perceive it as a hero. In addition, the fishmonger examines the jaw and observes that is has long hair. The author relates this eternal feature of the fish with wisdom. This makes the narrator to appreciate the fish as a wise creature especially if it managed to survive in the waters for many years. All these observations tend to strengthen the attributes of the fish as far as the fishmonger is concerned.

Another outstanding instance that guaranteed the freedom of the fish after being caught is the condition of boat. The boat is definitely old. The author compares the age of the boat and the fish and finds that they are both dilapidated. Nonetheless, both the boat and the fish are vital in the entire survival cycle in spite of their ages.

As much as the boat is old and full of imperfections, its functions are overwhelming according to the narrator. The leaking oil that formed a rainbow on the surface of water compelled the narrator to let the fish free since there was no time to deal with it while the boat was leaking.

This narration describes several processes that culminated into acquittal of the fish even after being trapped. The fish is displayed as a vulnerable captive that has created a sorrowful situation. The personal relationship between the fish and the fishmonger also enhances the feelings crop up and culminate into the freedom of the fish.

The narrator admires the fish. As a result, it strengthens the relationship between the two parties. The hooked jaw also reveals that the fish has escaped being caught several times. This compels the narrator to equate the fish to a hero. She ends up respecting the aquatic creature.

References

Bishop E. The fish. [place unknown: publisher unknown]; [date unknown; cited 2020 Feb 11].