Lines 34-44 of The Fish, by Elizabeth Bishop, are extremely particular in describing the author’s view of the fish’s eyes. She realizes the fish’s eyes are humongous enough to analyze all his features. The yellow coloring and loss of luster in his eyes showed his age. The gelatin layer of the lens that protects the eyes were scratched and damaged from the effects of a long- lived and prosperous life.  The author attempts to make eye contact with the fish, though it was in fear for its life, and does not return her stare. Seeing just how brave he was in not returning her stare, the author admired the honor that the fish projected. It seems as if the fish looked up at the sun, accepting his defeat, realizing this may just be his last battle.  The five old pieces of fish-lines in the fish’s jaw entails just how wise and venerable he was, so a feeling of victory may have come over the author for the mere fact of catching him. Although, keeping such an aged and noble fish may have altered her feelings of victory to feelings of regret. She then realizes that the fish still has fight left in him, and sets him free.

THE FISH

TABLE 2, LINES 09 – 21

First of all, the title plays a vital role as to uncovering the true meaning and significant of the poem entitled “THE FISH” by Elizabeth Bishop. What we get from the title is that it has some what to do with a fishing experience of some sort. While furthering examining the poem it details with this woman who decided to go on a fishing expedition and caught this huge fish in her little rented boat she observed it for a while, and final let it go. “Here and there his brown skin hung in strips like ancient wallpaper” She compares its brown skin to ancient wallpaper. Ancient wallpaper itself has a weird crisp feel to it, by using this comparison she lets us know how old the fish is and possibly how sick or battered its skin is. “Shapes like full-blown roses stained and lost through age.” This sentence further elaborates on the pattern of the scales enhanced on the species. Helping you better understand why the author is so repulsed by this fish because a stain symbolizes age but in the meanwhile it also incorporates the delicacy, and beauty of a rose. As the roses get older and close to death their color changes to a dark brown, resembling a burnt pattern. “He was speckled with barnacles, fine rosettes of lime”. Further goes on to detail on the texture of this fish. Barnacles are filter-feeding crustaceans that live attached to hard surfaces in this case on a Goliath Grouper. This process happens mainly to primeval aquatic species. Sea –lice is also found and described, these external parasites feed on the epidermal tissue of marine fish and are mostly found in their skin, and as it was mention in the description they have a tiny white aspect. By being infested with sea lice goes back to its negative characteristics inflected on this creature making it once again unappealing to the naked eye. At the end she says “and underneath two or three rags of green weed hung down” This last statement informs you of the environmental habitat this creature occupies. Normally found in shallow tropical water among coral reefs. In which causes substances attach to its lower body while it travels through the bottom of the sea. The speaker has portrayed mixed characterizations and feelings about the fish: on one hand he is tremendous and respected, but on the other he is somewhat of dead weight and ugly.

The Fish Lines 21-33

            It’s clearly seen in the beginning unpredictable how the woman is when she catches the fish and it doesn’t put up a fight.  As the fish was pulled out of the water, it felt the oxygen to be a powerful shock that would kill him slowly.  She describes the fish as homely and ugly with seaweed hanging from his body. Also, she mentions the fish to be massive in size viewed with utter disgust having a rough appearance.  The woman thought next about the fish’s insides.  The first thought that came to her mind was everything packed together in there like packed feathers.  As she envisions the insides of the fish she pictures what she describes to be massive and microscopic bones.  Putting more thoughts in her mind about the fish made her picture the radiate red and black of the fish’s entrails.  Although the speaker was disgusted by the fish’s appearance, she let it go due to its previous close encounters with death.  Thinking of all it has been through in its life just to have it end there wasn’t fair.  Although unpredictable behavior can be one way of interpreting the poem there are many more.

Lines 45-60

            Elizabeth Bishop writes a poem titled “The Fish,” which was copy-written in 1979 and in 1983 by Alice. Bishop, a thirty-three year old woman, talks excessively of this Goliath Grouper’s features. She describes his face like an old grumpy man. She continues to identify that the fish is back out of the realm of the living and describes it as something mechanical. This fish causes her to reflect back on her life as she explains his admiring sulking face. Then comes the point of suspense, she arises labeling it as a human face, but shifts by stating it is just a mere object. As she admires the face, she notices there are five different fishing lines on his lower lip. She clarifies how he is a tough old one “grim, wet, and weapon-like” that has been through a lot. He has not only Elizabeth’s hook on his lower lip, but also the actual hooks and pieces of fishing equipment from prior fishermen who tried to capture him. Signifying he was so threatening that he got away from the other fishermen. This fish has overcome many obstacles in its life; however, it seems as though that he given up with Elizabeth’s hook. She distinguishes the fishing lines between the older and heavier lines. She mentions “strain and snap” presenting that this fish is the wolf of fishes, however, at this point, he was too old to fight back. The usage of her imagery lets us see the fish with just her words. She examines the fish so well, it comes to a point that we, as readers, accept that she is no longer thinking of the Goliath Grouper as an ugly, big tasty fish, but instead as a warrior.

Reading lines 1 through 9 of “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop, one may come to the conclusion that she has taken a fishing trip. On this fishing trip she catches a fish. The fish was big and heavy, probably weighing a ton. She held the fish on the side of the boat. Half way in the water and stared, not pulling it in. Maybe she was alone and the fish too heavy to lift on her own. She stood there thinking of why it didn’t put up a fight for its life in no way at all. It just hung there, with the hook in the corner of its mouth. She stood back and analyzed the fish. The fish was of course heavy, beaten up, ugly and old. Not pleasing to the eyes at all. Maybe she stood there thinking whether to throw it back because she didn’t like it. Or to keep it and cut it open. She could probably sell it and make a little money. Maybe even give it away as a gift. Even hang it up in her house as a master piece collection. Though as ugly as a fish it was she analyzed it well and couldn’t help but admire it. Thinking of what the fish may have been through to look so beaten up and displeasing to the eyes. Was it worth keeping or would it just blend in with the wall too much?

In the last part of the poem The Fish by Elizabeth Bishop, the author makes a correlation between the aspect and feeling of the Goliath Grooper fish and the boat in which she was fishing. Reading between the last lines we can conclude that the author feels sympathy and relates herself to the wicked condition of the fish.  The last could be appreciated from line 61 through 68 in which Elizabeth refers to the “five-haired beard of wisdom” that looks like “medals with their ribbons”. These words give us the idea that the fish is some kind of old veteran from multiple fishing battles. The fish have been through many things in his life as well as the boat in which the speaker is fishing. In line 66 Elizabeth says “and victory filled up the little rented boat”, these words are the key to the analogy between the fish and the boat. The word “victory” makes us thing about the battles that the fisherman, as the fish, have won in the past. Victories conduce to medals and usually victory is associated with longstanding veterans that have been successful in their carriers or that have overcome many obstacles. “[T]he little rented boat” present us again with this weak aspect of the boat relating the story of the fish with the author. In literature a ship or a boat is usually a symbol of our journey in life. “[T]he rusted engine” of the boat is that tired condition of existence in which the author may include herself, as if so many bad experiences as harsh as the sun in the beach have left her feeling with “sun-cracked thwarts”. “[T]he pool of bilge where oil had spread a rainbow around the rusted engine” give that feeling of someone bleeding from past experiences, scars of the soul that creates a rainbow, colors that spread from the negative creating and molding our personality. Our victories over our negative experiences make us who we are. “[T]he oarlocks on their strings” is also a wonderful symbol alluding to those attachments to the positive things of life that make us keep fighting. We have to consider than an oarlock is that part of the boat that holds the ropes connecting the ship with the dock in land. The author refers to the oarlocks pointing to the fact that they are still present, the connection is there, life continues, and many victories are still to come. “[T]he gunnels” came to support again that feeling of going forward as the gunnel of the boat that split the waters in front while it sails. The general meaning is that the fish, the boat, and ultimately the author are all in the same condition. Having so many battles and scars in their backs have brought them all together to this moment in which they consider in an act of mutual acknowledgement how those scars have transformed themselves in “rainbow, rainbow, rainbow!”. Rainbows almost always come out after the rain, symbolizing the renewal and cleansing of nature. At this point, the fisherman understood that in the middle of the chaotic circumstances of the trip she could also see the bright share of her experiences. “And I let the fish go” finish the author with that wonderful epiphany that comes after the gaze of the rainbow, leaving the fish, and indeed, life continues its path.

Each of you will then comment on the explication of the poem.

Please post your complete explication of the poem to this

As your final assessment for poetry, you will read and discuss a poem by Emily Dickinson.  I happen to love the poem, perhaps because I can relate to it just a bit too much!  Here is a link to the poem:

 http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poem/174990

Please read the poem carefully.

In a well-thought out post, write a 4-paragraph EXPLICATION of the poem.  The poem has three stanzas, so I expect one paragraph per stanza and at least one other paragraph.  For some help in explication, you migh want to look at the following links and/or the section on poetry explication in your book.

http://rwc.hunter.cuny.edu/reading-writing/on-line/lit-poem.html

http://twp.duke.edu//uploads/assets/poetry.pdf

In your explication, you should PARAPHRASE the poem and discuss what you believe the poem means.  You may support your response with references (mention them, but do not try to link to them).  Please do NOT copy/paste or paraphrase from other sources.  Think for yourselves!

You must support your answer with at least ONE example, drawn from your life or your observations.

For full credit, please comment on what at least ONE other classmate writes.  Make sure your response is detailed.

You have until February 9 to complete your explication and until February 14 to comment on ONE of your classmates’ explications.

1. Describe the personalities of Digby, Jeff, the narrator.  Give some evidence from the text to support what you say.

2. What is the effect of knowing that the dead man’s name is “Al”?

I suggest that you compose your answers in MS Word and then copy/paste onto the space provided and click “Submit Comment.”