Poetry, The Fish by Elizabeth Bishop - Essay Example

She says, “and victory filled up the little rented boat.And I let the fish go. This is perhaps the reason why she ends up appreciating the life which the fish may have lived and decides that it would be wrong for her to haul in her catch, in the end letting the fish go. From her description, we find that the fish is well known in the waters in which she is fishing and that many others before her have attempted to catch it without much success. She states that the fish carried the hooks that were embedded in its jaw “.

Like medals with their ribbons/frayed and wavering”. This makes the fish to not only be considered to be a majestic character, but also one which has, through its own resourcefulness, been able to elude capture for so long. But the fact that she, an amateur, has managed to catch it is a sure sign that after its ling struggle, the fish has finally lost its will to live, allowing itself to be captured. This, in Bishop’s mind, is a sign that the fish has those sensible feelings that can only be attributed to human beings.

Personification in the poem is a powerful tool which has been used to show that despite the fact that fish are always hunted for sport, they are also creatures with possible feelings. It can be said that the description of the fish by Bishop is an attempt to show that while she at first seemed to detest it, after she caught it, her feelings eventually change. The fact that Bishop for the first time comes to notice “his lip” marks a turning point in her initial view of the fish since she describes it in such a way that can only be attributed to a human being.

The fact that she mentions the fish’s lip can be considered to be an attempt of evoking a feeling of respect for it, since it has managed to outwit most of those individuals who would otherwise have captured it. She states, “and then I saw that from his lower lip.. all their five big hooks grown firmly in his mouth”. In addition, Bishop describes the fish’s beard, and since in human society, a beard is often associated with wisdom, it can be said that she considers the fish to be wise.

Moreover, the description of the fish’s beard can be said to be a reflection of Bishop’s perception of its being highly intelligent since it had managed to live in the same waters for many years, eluding capture while at the same time attaining the admiration of those people who wanted to catch it. It is a creature that values its freedom and it goes to great lengths, using its intelligence as well as its knowledge of its home waters to ensure that it remains free, a fact that Bishop, through her description, seems to greatly admire, “.

I caught a tremendous fish/and held him beside the boat. The use of personification ensures that the fish has been given the respect and value that it deserves since it has managed to elude all those who were out to get it. It is because of the respect and value that Bishop feels for the fish that she eventually decides that it would be best to release it. She feels that it would be unfair if she were to keep the fish as a trophy because in time, her memory of her moment with it would be eventually