| The Fish (Group 3) | |
| by Elizabeth Bishop | |
| While his gills were breathing in
the terrible oxygen —the frightening gills, fresh and crisp with blood, that can cut so badly— I thought of the coarse white flesh packed in like feathers, the big bones and the little bones, the dramatic reds and blacks of his shiny entrails, and the pink swim-bladder like a big peony.
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Instructions: Each individual student MUST post his or her sentences (mini, mini explication) about this section of the poem. The recorder Must post his or her individual sentence, as well as the GROUP paragraph, upon which you must agree. The GROUP paragraph must be EXACTLT 9 sentences. You must all decide as a group that the paragraph is to your exact specification. Come to agreement. Only then will the recorder post the GROUP paragraph.
that can cut so badly—
I thought of the coarse white flesh
packed in like feathers,
the big bones and the little bones
…………………………………
My Explication
Thoughts of the fish begans to run through Elizabeth Bishops mind. Elizabeth could only think of the thick white flesh packed like feathers.She uses a simile to compare the flesh to feathers, as it seems to be soft and crammed in with the big bones and little bones.
[Reply]
While his gills were breathing in
the terrible oxygen
—the frightening gills,
fresh and crisp with blood
__________________________
My Explication:
Elizabeth Bishop begins to describe what seemed to be running through the fish’s mind. Gasping for air, with absolutely nothing coming in his lungs, he was slowly dying, his gills were bloody as they were being hooked.
[Reply]
the dramatic reds and blacks
of his shiny entrails,
and the pink swim-bladder
like a big peony.
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The inner organs of the fish were filled with the bold colors of red and black. The bladder of the fish was like a “peony” (plant with large showy flowers) which means it was large and showing a lot.
[Reply]
Group Paragraph
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Elizabeth talks about how the fish was breathing in “terrible oxygen,” the oxygen is only terrible because a fish cannot breathe it since it lives underwater. Then she talks about how the gills on the fish were fresh and crisp with blood, they are fresh because the fish just came from the water. The gills are frightened because they’ve never been in contact with air. Elizabeth then starts thinking about the fish. She compares the white flesh of the fish to feathers because feathers are packed into the skin of the bird with hardly any space just like the flesh is packed in a fish. Elizabeth continues describing the fish; she talks about the big bones of the fish which would be the spine and then the smaller bones. She moves on to the organs of the fish with are an intense red and black. She says the reds and black are “dramatic” and this adds to the feel of the fish gasping for his life. Finally, she compares the swim-bladder of the fish to a big “peony”, this means that bladder was very showy.
[Reply]