The Fish notes and quotes

Question 1

What is the poem simply about?

Answer 1

This poem is a seemingly simple poem about a speaker who catches a fish, scrutinizes it, and lets it go.

Question 2

What does this poem show about Bishop?

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

Through Bishops keen eye, the fish is transformed, how is it transformed?

Answer 3

The fish is transformed from something ordinary into something that represents bravery, strength and heroism.

Question 4

Explain the quote ‘While his gills were breathing in

the terrible oxygen’ in terms of the start and end of the poem

Answer 4

In the beginning, Bishop feels quite detached from the fish,

but as the poem moves on she becomes conscious of the fact that she is in control of what happens to the fish.
‘While his gills were breathing in
the terrible oxygen’

It unnerves her when she sees the fish dying in front of her eyes.

Question 5

Quote the line of the poem when the fish is beginning to show the effects of breathing in oxygen

Answer 5

‘While his gills were breathing in

the terrible oxygen’

Question 6

What does Bishop admire in the fish? Quote this line aswell as explain it

Answer 6

Bishop realises that the fish has qualities she longs to possess herself.
The fish is no longer just a physical object but is now a creature possessing qualities which she finds admirable. She admires it’s strength of character and it’s determination to survive. She admired his resolute nature of the fish.

‘I admired his sullen face’

Question 7

Quote the description of the fish’s face that Bishop admires

Answer 7

‘I admired his sullen face’

Question 8

Quote the last 2 lines of the poem where the epiphany takes place

Answer 8

‘Everything was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow!

And I let the fish go.’

Question 9

Explain the quote ‘Everything was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow!
And I let the fish go.’

Answer 9

The symbolism of the rainbow shows Bishop’s awareness of beauty in a world of danger. The rainbow is symbolic of her illumination, of something being revealed to her. Bishop has a moment of epiphany where she achieves an insight into the world around her.

Question 10

What does the rainbow symbolise?

Answer 10

The symbolism of the rainbow shows Bishop’s awareness of beauty in a world of danger.

The rainbow is symbolic of her illumination, of something being revealed to her.

Question 11

Explain the quotes:
‘his brown skin hung in strips
like ancient wallpaper’

‘irises backed and packed
with tarnished tinfoil’

Answer 11

From the poem, it is obvious Bishop has a keen eye for detail. She uses colloquial language to describe the fish but does so with great detail.

The detail is painstakingly and imaginatively described.

These are both examples of Bishop’s painterly eye.

Question 12

Explain the quotes:
‘a tremendous fish’

‘he was speckled with barnacles’

Answer 12

Bishop is portrayed as an observer and she uses great detail to describe what she sees.

She vividly describes the fish so that the reader can picture clearly what she is describing.

‘tremendous’ reflects the poet’s breathless excitement and awe at this magnificent specimen of a fish

Question 13

Explain the quotes:
‘Grim, wet, and weaponlike’

‘Like medals with their ribbons’

Answer 13

She uses war imagery to portray the fishes heroism. The military language highlights the effort the fish has made to survive.

Question 14

Explain the quote in terms of the fish and the poet:

‘trailing from his aching jaw’

Answer 14

Bishop’s sympathy is clear as she notes the fish’s ‘aching jaw’.
For the fish, it is clear that the pain of battle remains.

Question 15

Quote the line explaining Bishops’ sympathy for the suffering of the fish

Answer 15

‘trailing from his aching jaw’

Question 16

Explain the quotes together as they contrast: 
'frightening gills/
fresh and crisp with blood' 
and 
'pink swim-bladder/like a big peony'

Answer 16

The detailed phrasing captures the wildness of the creature.

Its interior is also imagined, the ‘pink swim-bladder’ is similar to a ‘big peony’
These original and striking images appeal to both our visual and tactile senses

Question 17

Quote the lines explaining the gills and innards of the fish

Answer 17

‘frightening gills/
fresh and crisp with blood’
and
‘pink swim-bladder/like a big peony’

Question 18

Explain the quote:

‘I stared and stared’

Answer 18

This shows how the poet is transfixed by the fish

Question 19

How is there universal significance in this poem?

Answer 19

The scene is transformed as Bishop ‘stared and stared’. ‘Victory filled up the boat’ and all ordinary things like the ‘thwarts’ and ‘bilge’ were transformed and coloured.

Bishop’s relationship with the fish alters and she lets the fish go, exercising mercy.

Question 20

Explain the moment when an epiphany occurs

Answer 20

She lets the fish go. All tension built up in the poem has been released.

The drama created from ‘I caught a tremendous fish’ to ‘and I let the fish go’ has been resolved.

Victory belongs to the fish and the poet. The fish is free; the poet has seen and understood