This was generated by Chat GPT and edited by the teacher.
Line-by-Line Summary
Lines 1–6:
“I caught a tremendous fish / and held him beside the boat / half out of water, / with my hook / fast in a corner of his mouth. / He didn’t fight.”
- The speaker catches a very large fish and holds it next to the boat. Surprisingly, the fish doesn’t struggle or resist, suggesting age, weariness, or acceptance. The emphasis of my hook signifies that Bishop is to blame for catching the fish.
Lines 7–12:
“He hadn’t fought at all. / He hung a grunting weight, / battered and venerable / and homely.”
- The fish’s stillness is emphasised. He seems old, battered, and plain—but also dignified and worthy of respect. We see how Bishop is very detailed in her observations seeing more than the average person.
Lines 13–20:
“Here and there / his brown skin hung in strips / like ancient wallpaper, / and its pattern of darker brown / was like wallpaper: / shapes like full-blown roses / stained and lost through age.”
- The fish’s skin is compared to old wallpaper—faded, peeling, and stained. Bishop’s detailed observation transforms decay into beauty. The simile used is simple and easily understood and it is clear that this is an old fish.
Lines 21–27:
“He was speckled with barnacles, / fine rosettes of lime, / and infested / with tiny white sea-lice, / and underneath two or three / rags of green weed hung down.”
- The poet continues her close examination: the fish is covered with signs of long life in the sea—barnacles, sea-lice, and weeds. Nature has marked him. Note the use of the words ‘infested’ and ‘sea-lice.’
Lines 28–34:
“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 speaker notes the fish’s gills, alive and dangerous, then imagines the flesh beneath—coarse but delicate in texture, showing both life and vulnerability.
Lines 35–40:
“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.”
- The speaker’s imagination continues inward, describing the fish’s anatomy in vivid, almost artistic terms—turning the physical into the poetic.
Lines 41–45:
“I looked into his eyes / which were far larger than mine / but shallower, and yellowed, / the irises backed and packed / with tarnished tinfoil.”
- The speaker meets the fish’s gaze and finds it alien—old, metallic, and reflective—conveying wisdom and endurance. It is important to note that she looks the fish in the eye as if she is trying to communicate with the fish or trying to find out more about the fish.
Lines 46–51:
“Seen through the lenses / of old scratched isinglass. / They shifted a little, but not / to return my stare.”
- The fish’s eyes are like old glass—cloudy and ancient. They move slightly, but the fish shows no fear or awareness of the speaker. It’s as if he doesn’t care about the speaker, he does not want to engage with her. There is something admirable in his approach, as he doesn’t care about the power that she has over him.
Lines 52–61:
“It was more like the tipping / of an object toward the light. / I admired his sullen face, / the mechanism of his jaw, / and then I saw / that from his lower lip — / if you could call it a lip — / grim, wet, and weaponlike, / hung five old pieces of fish-line, / or four and a wire leader / with the swivel still attached.”
- The speaker notices the fish’s mouth and realizes that several old fish lines are hanging from it—evidence of past battles with other fishermen. It is at this point that Bishop sees the battles that the fish has fought, which is in contrast to how he has not fought at all to get away from Bishop.
Lines 62–66:
“With all their five big hooks / grown firmly in his mouth. / A green line, frayed at the end / where he broke it, two heavier lines, / and a fine black thread / still crimped from the strain and snap when he broke and got away.”
- The fish has survived multiple captures—he has literally broken free several times. The hanging lines are symbols of endurance and victory. The poet uses onomatopoeia to bring his victories to life and we can hear how he evaded the fishermen in previous battles
Lines 67–72:
“ Like medals with their ribbons frayed and wavering, a five-haired beard of wisdom / trailing from his aching jaw.”
- We see a change in how Bishop views the fish, now referring to him as a wise creature, one who she clearly admires. She describes the hooks in his mouth as medals, comparing the fish to a war veteran, who has been through many battles. She describes his jaw as ‘aching,’ which shows that she is sympathetic towards the fish and has huge admiration for the battles he has been through.
Lines 73–75:
“I stared and stared / and victory filled up / the little rented boat.”
- The speaker feels an overwhelming sense of triumph—not for catching the fish, but for understanding and admiring its resilience.
Lines 76–80:
“From the pool of bilge / where oil had spread a rainbow / around the rusted engine / to the bailer rusted orange, / the sun-cracked thwarts, the oarlocks on their strings…”
- The world around her transforms—the colors and light in the boat mirror her emotional state and there is pathetic fallacy used in this scene, as the surroundings reflect the mood of the speaker.
Lines 81–82:
“Everything was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow!”
- The speaker sees everything in a new, vivid way. The rainbow suggests enlightenment, connection, and harmony.
Lines 83–84:
“And I let the fish go.”
- The poem ends with an act of mercy and respect. The speaker releases the fish, acknowledging its dignity and hard-won survival. It’s as if she has seen the battles he had been through and realises that there are times when people do give up, and it is important that when this happens, they need a helping hand. This may reflect a time in Bishop’s life when, like the fish, she too had given up and perhaps someone came to her rescue. Perhaps the poem is encouraging people to look out for others and see when people are struggling and needing help.
Themes Summary
- Respect for Nature and Life
- The speaker moves from seeing the fish as a mere object or trophy to recognising it as a fellow creature with a history and resilience deserving admiration.
- Wisdom and Survival
- The fish symbolises endurance, having survived many previous encounters. The “five old pieces of fish-line” are like battle scars, testaments to wisdom and perseverance.
- Transformation and Epiphany
- The detailed observation of the fish leads to a moment of revelation. The “rainbow” imagery represents the speaker’s shift in perception—a newfound harmony between human life and nature.
- Beauty in Age and Imperfection
- Bishop’s language turns decay, scars, and wear into beauty. The old fish becomes “venerable,” showing how time and struggle can create a kind of grace.
- Connection and Compassion
- By the end, the speaker identifies with the fish and chooses compassion over domination, releasing it as a gesture of empathy and respect.