“The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop
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.