This is one of the most common techniques used by poets and appears a number of times in ‘The Fish.’ For example, in line thirty-eight she uses the phrase “tarnished tinfoil.” Another poetic technique Bishop makes use of is simile.
In her distinctly visual poem, “The Fish,” the narrator recounts his unpredictable encounter with a fish he caught. In the poem, Bishop uses specific imagery and diction to further the themes of the poem, choices and power.
In the next seven lines, the sight of the blood inspires the speaker to consider the inside of the fish. From past experience catching, killing, and eating these animals, she knows that the “white flesh“ is “packed in like feathers.”
The poem “The Fish” is bombarded with intense imagery of the fish. The fish is 'tremendous', 'battered', 'venerable', and 'homely'. Bishop is very sympathetic towards the fish's situation as she imagines the fish's life stories.
' In line 75, the word 'rainbow' is repeated three times just before the narrator let's the fish go. This symbol could be one of religious definition when God gave Noah a sign of peace, the rainbow. Possibly, the poet and the fish are now at peace with each other as they go their separate ways.
In the text, Bishop engages with themes of nature, humility, and choices. After catching this extremely noteworthy fish, it is her choice to release it back into the water. She had a moment of connection with the creature that spread out into a broader connection with the natural world.
In this poem, Marianne Moore utilizes elegant imagery and a highly visual structure. Many readers have found “The Fish” obscure, since its primary subject seems not to be fish but the defiant independence of a seaside cliff. Actually, the poem is about the sea, the cliff, and the relationship between them.
The epiphany, or Aha! moment comes with the appearance of the rainbow, which immediately precedes letting the fish go. In other words, the full spectrum of colors – a.k.a. the rainbow – symbolizes the speaker putting all the pieces together in order to make the decision to release the fish.
How does the fish in Bishop's poem react when it is caught? The fish reacts with equanimity, as if this were something he had experienced before.
Marianne Moore's “Poetry” is an investigation into the mysterious art of poetry. At times ironic and serious, Moore considers the opposing methods by which poets convey the world: intellection and imagination. Moore explores the ways poetry appeals to our conscious thoughts and our unconscious feelings.
Bishop's use of imagery, narration, and tone allow the reader to visualize the fish and create a bond with him, a bond in which the reader has a great deal of admiration for the fish's plight.
The Fish Summary The speaker considered how tough this fish must be and how much he probably had to fight. She begins to respect the fish. The poem takes its final turn when the oil spillage in the boat makes a rainbow and the speaker, overcome with emotion by the fish and the scene, lets the fish go.
Bishop’s poem, ‘The Fish,’ has a straightforward title that’s hard to misinterpret. It designated this poem as focused on “the fish” the young main character catches. This ensures that the reader puts as much time into thinking about the fish as possible, rather than analyzing other, less central parts of the text.
Another poetic technique Bishop makes use of is simile. There are a few examples, such as in line twenty-eight when the speaker describes the flesh of the fish as “packed like feathers.”
In the next two lines of ‘The Fish,’ the speaker uses additional similes to compare the shapes that the peeling skin makes to “full blown roses.” This is another reference to a wallpaper pattern. But, she makes sure to emphasize the fact that the paper pattern has been lost to the ages. However it used to look, those images are long since gone.
She goes on, spending the next lines giving in-depth details about the fish’s skin. Bishop uses a simile to describe its state. She compares it to old wallpaper that is peeling off the walls of an ancient house. As the strips come off, the skin underneath is revealed, and a new pattern is created as the two different textures and colors contrast to one another.
Often, the dashes are also used to represent the speaker’s own uncertainty.
In lines five and six, this speaker emphasizes the fact that as she was reeling in the fish, it did not fight at all. This seems surprising considering the fact that the fish is so large. There is a distinct possibility that if it had fought, then it could’ve broken in the line and gotten away. A reader should take note of the use of anaphora in lines five, six, and seven. Although the fish did not fight when she reeled it in, it had a deadweight which proved to be a different kind of resistance.
In the first lines of ‘The Fish,’ the speaker begins by stating that she went fishing and caught a “tremendous fish.”. As soon as the fish was out of the water, she began an intense period of observation. Perhaps due in part to surprise, the speaker does not immediately haul the fish into the boat.
In the poem, Bishop uses specific imagery and diction to further the themes of the poem, choices and power. In the very first lines of the poem, the reader is bombarded with powerful imagery and details about the fish.
Overall, Elizabeth Bishop uses this powerful poem, full of imagery and specific diction, to develop the ideas of power and choices. From this poem, the reader learns that even if one is in a position of power, he does not need to take advantage of it, because with every choice there is always a consequence.