Answer Expert Verified First of all, the speaker personifies the fish by giving him gender. She refers to him using the pronoun “his”. Even though we know fishes can not convey emotions, she uses adjectives to describe his expression such as “battered and venerable”, or “his sullen face”.
Contents
- 1 How does Bishop describe the fish?
- 2 What is the speaker’s attitude towards the fish?
- 3 What does the fish represent in the fish by Elizabeth Bishop?
- 4 What is the speaker’s attitude toward the fish comment in particular on lines 61 64?
- 5 What are the similes in the poem the fish?
- 6 What details help the reader visualize the fish?
- 7 What is the tone of the fish?
- 8 What decision does the Speaker of the fish make at the end of the poem?
- 9 Why does the speaker let the fish go?
- 10 What does the fish symbolize?
- 11 What does the rainbow in the fish symbolize?
- 12 What is the theme of the poem the fish by Elizabeth Bishop?
- 13 How does the fish relate to bishops life?
- 14 What happens at the end of the poem the fish?
- 15 What two household items does the speaker in the fish use to describe the fish?
How does Bishop describe the fish?
In lines eight and nine, Bishop uses three adjectives to describe the fish. It is “battered,” “venerable,“ and “homely.” At first, these three words seem to cancel one another out.
What is the speaker’s attitude towards the fish?
The speaker realizes that the fishing lines were “like medals with their ribbons.” This is in stark contrast to the description of the fish as not fighting. It is at this point where the speaker feels as though he/she and the fish are equal matches.
What does the fish represent in the fish by Elizabeth Bishop?
Elizabeth Bishop’s poem The Fish displays her ecological awareness that leads her to accept a relationship of coexistence between human beings and nonhuman beings. This ecological awareness in the poem is reflected when she leaves the fish free.
What is the speaker’s attitude toward the fish comment in particular on lines 61 64?
Wise, experienced, tough. This speaker really respects the fish. The speaker also recognizes the toll these battles have taken on the fish.
What are the similes in the poem the fish?
Thus, this depiction of the fish being old produces the idea that the fish, in part, represents wisdom. The second and third similes Bishop use states, “ I thought of the coarse white flesh / packed like feathers” (Bishop, LL 27-8), and “The pink swim-bladder / like a big peony” ( LL 32-3).
What details help the reader visualize the fish?
Bishop’s use of imagery, narration, and tone allow the reader to visualize the fish and create a bond with him, a bond in which the reader has a great deal of admiration for the fish’s plight.
What is the tone of the fish?
Tone/Atmosphere At first the speaker is jubilant, catching a tremendous fish, landing a whopper, but as the poem moves on this pride is tempered by closer and closer observation of the specimen. All kinds of associations come to light through multiple uses of simile.
What decision does the Speaker of the fish make at the end of the poem?
At the culmination of Elizabeth Bishop’s poem “The Fish”, the speaker makes an inscrutable decision to release just such a catch. Bishop never explicitly states the speaker’s intentions or attitude toward the fish, and at first, it may seem as if the speaker releases the fish on a sudden impulse.
Why does the speaker let the fish go?
Answer and Explanation: The speaker from Elizabeth Bishop’s “The Fish” lets the fish go because she respects it and thinks that it deserves freedom.
What does the fish symbolize?
Fish represents the unconscious of higher-self, feelings, and motives. It is also a metaphor for deeper awareness and the intelligence and thought process. Since water brings life, all the creatures living beneath its surface will symbolize fertility, birth, and rebirth.
What does the rainbow in the fish symbolize?
The steady progression of colors that seem to form a rainbow symbolize the victory of the fish over all those who have tried to conquer him. This victorious rainbow of all colors causes the speaker to have an epiphany that this venerable fish should be allowed to live and continue in his victories.
What is the theme of the poem the fish by Elizabeth Bishop?
This poem contains three significant themes: the integration of subjective and objective observation, an almost feminist definition of victory, and the active involvement of the reader in the experience recreated in the poem. These themes also appear in much of Bishop’s other works.
How does the fish relate to bishops life?
It shows Bishop’s process of thinking and how that changes when she looks at the fish. The fish is transformed from something ordinary into something that represents bravery, strength and heroism.
What happens at the end of the poem the fish?
The speaker considered how tough this fish must be and how much he probably had to fight. The poem takes its final turn when the oil spillage in the boat makes a rainbow and the speaker, overcome with emotion by the fish and the scene, lets the fish go.
What two household items does the speaker in the fish use to describe the fish?
Next, Bishop compares the fish to familiar household objects: “ here and there / his brown skin hung in strips / like ancient wallpaper, / and its pattern of darker brown / was like wallpaper;” she uses two similes with common objects to create sympathy for the captive.
