The Fish

Elizabeth Bishop is a highly admired writer. In her poem, “The Fish,” a reader can enjoy the very specific analysis of a fish. While it may seem confusing, there are certainly multiple ways of possibly interpreting this poem. The poem is a continuous, with no stanzas, description of a fish and also the relationship between her and the fish. While it may be gruesome and overly-descriptive, it leaves many questions for the reader. In Elizabeth Bishop’s poem, “The Fish” she uses similes, adjectives, and imagery to show the significance of inner beauty in people. During the poem, a reader can notice lots of smiles in order to describe the fish. Throughout the poem Bishop vividly describes the fish to the reader, and similes help make the poem
more descriptive. A perfect example of this is when Bishop writes, “here and there his brown skin hung in strips like ancient wall-paper,” as she is explaining the appearance of the fish’s skin. This shows that, from the outside, the fish was decrepit- looking. A reader could tie this analysis into the theme because from the outside the fish looks old and worn out, but the reader has yet to find out more about the fish throughout the poem. Another example of a simile in the poem is when Bishop describes the lip of the fish.
“I admired his sullen face,
The mechanism of his jaw,
And then I saw
That from his lower lip
--if you could call it a lip-
Grim, wet, and weapon-like,
Hung five old pieces of fish-line”

With this example of a simile, a reader can really appreciate the gruesome and painful appearance of the fish’s lip.
Furthermore, a reader could also connect this graphic description of the lip to the theme because the fish has been caught in the past. A reader could also think that from this description it has been abused and hurt in the past as well, making the fish vulnerable and weak. Additionally, Bishop could have been trying to convey that as humans, we must remain strong no matter how severe the damage may be to us from the past. Secondly, the writer uses lots of adjectives to describe the fish very explicitly. Describing the fish plays a critical role in the way that Bishop tries to portray her point, or theme, of the poem so she must choose her words carefully. A perfect example of this is when she is describing the outside of the fish, “He was speckled with barnacles, fine rosettes of lime, and infested, with tiny white sea-lice.” Through this description of the fish a reader gets a very close look at what the fish appears to be to Bishop. By writing that the fish was, “speckled,” and “infested,” supports the theme by suggesting that the fish was taken advantage of and used in the past. Possibly making the fish appear ugly and used, but still terrific because it is alive. It is apparent that Bishop is admiring the fish because in the first line she writes that the fish was “tremendous.” Through this, the theme of inner beauty is very apparent because the fish
remains strong through this being-used and hurt, leaving it “speckled,” and “infested,” past. Thirdly, Bishop uses lots of imagery throughout the entire poem to describe the fish to the reader. Having used similes and adjectives to make her point even more crystal clear to the reader, imagery is what makes the entire poem so great. A really great example of this is when Bishop writes about looking into the eyes of the fish.
“I looked into his eyes
Which were far larger than mine
But shallower, and yellowed,
The irises backed and packed
With tarnished tinfoil
Seen through the lenses
Of old scratched isinglass.”
This shows that Bishop was in a sense, connecting, with the fish by looking into his eyes. The reader can feel a very deep sense of emotion through this description because it is so clear. This example also conveys the underlying theme of the poem because it shows that even though the fish was abused in the past, there was still a soul when she looked into his eyes, as rough and torn up as it seems. This also suggests that inner beauty is always inside of a person no matter how much they’ve been hurt or abused in the past.
Another example of imagery is in the very beginning of the poem while Bishop is describing catching the fish, the reader can feel the image because of the way Bishop wrote it in the poem.
Bishop writes, “He didn’t fight. He hadn’t fought at all. He hung a grunting weight, battered and venerable and homely.” This gives a very vivid and clear description of how the fish reacted to being caught. With understanding this, a reader could possibly interpret that the fish was again, vulnerable and weak, because it didn’t attempt to fight back being caught. The theme is conveyed here because it seems as though sometimes people who do not have a lot of self-confidence tend to give up when being faced with challenges because they feel that they are not good enough. Because the fish did not attempt to fight back while being caught, shows that the fish, or person, could have lacked self-confidence, hope, and determination. Bishop is suggesting through this example that the inner beauty and feelings of a person ultimately make who they are in
life.
In conclusion, Bishop has a very successful poem in that the description of the fish really helps the reader understand the fish and how it relates to real life relations and people. Through her description with similes, adjectives, and vivid clear imagery, a reader can feel the fish and have a sense of compassion for the fish while reading the poem. Bishop has truly captivated a very important concept of inner beauty and hope in people through the poem.