Elizabeth Bishop Ð'- the Fish

Elizabeth Bishop Ð'- The Fish

Elizabeth Bishop's "The Fish" deals with the contact of a fisher with his just caught

victim. It's about the feeling of private triumph and moreover the pity and respect for

others.

The poem which is told the reader by a first person narrator starts with the fact that

the fisher just caught the fish without having to struggle. It wasn't hard for him to

catch the fish because he didn't make an effort to escape. The fish which he is

holding beside the boat is in a pretty bad shape. His skin resembles an "ancient

wallpaper" and he is "speckled with barnacles". By staring at the fish, the fisher's

feeling of success and superiority grows more and more.

However, while he is looking in the large and yellowed eyes of his little friend, he

starts to admire the appearance of his victim. He is concentrating on the "sullen face" and "the mechanism of his jaw" and suddenly discovers five old pieces of fish-line hanging out of the fish's mouth. Moreover he spots also five big hooks and his pride

is even getting bigger. He is obviously the first person to beat that little beast.

While he is thinking about what he has achieved oil is flowing all over the boat

and into the sea. The fisher is so imressed that he throws the fish back into the sea.

Elizabeth Bishop starts the poem with a description of the fish. She tries to create a picture of an ugly and huge creature, which will serve as a trophy for the proud fisher. But in line five to seven she entitles the fish as "He" to show the reader a human aspect of the fish. Furthermore she begins three sentences with "He" and uses the repetition to confirm that the fish is not only an animal but also has a personal part. In addition she is talking about several features like the "lower lip" of the fish in line 48 or "the sullen face" in line 45 what is another evidence for the human aspect of the fish. While he is looking in the large eyes of the fish he is

He is describing every part of the fish very detailed. Moreover he thinks about the "big bones and the little bones" and also imagines what the entrails would look like.

In the course of the poem Elizabeth Bishop manages it to change the reader's attitude towards the fish. The fisher begins to admire his catch and recognises that he is starting to feel sympathy