The Fish

‘I caught a tremendous fish’ – immediate connection between the title and the first line

‘with my hook fast in a corner of his mouth’ – creates an interesting relationship between fish and fisher

‘He didn’t fight. He hadn’t fought at all’ – one of Bishop’s stylistic moves; a swift adjustment or self-correction

‘battered and venerable’ – a human characteristic

‘his brown skin hung in strips like ancient wallpaper’ – seems grander than just ‘old’ (cf. ‘venerable’)

‘stained and lost through age’ – emphasising the ‘wise old man’ association

‘he was speckled with barnacles’ – another hint of age

‘rags of green weed hung down’ – ditto

‘while his gills were breathing in the terrible oxygen’ – we realise how dire the situation is for the fish; his life has been literally in her hands this whole time

‘I thought of the coarse white flesh’ – Bishop considers the catch

‘and the pink swim-bladder like a big peony’ – another comparison to flowers (cf. ‘full-blown roses’)

‘I looked into his eyes which were far larger than mine’ – reminding us that they are opponents

‘the irises backed and packed with tarnished tinfoil’ – a creative description

‘they shifted a little, but not to return my stare’ – perhaps this is not as personal or competitive as we thought

‘it was more like the tipping of an object’ – another adjustment

‘I admired his sullen face’ – another human feeling

‘if you could call it a lip’ – another adjustment or aside drags out the suspense

‘grim, wet, and weaponlike’ – tough old soldier image (cf. ‘venerable’)

‘five old pieces of fish-line, or four and a wire leader’ – this correction really shows her commitment to accuracy

‘frayed at the end where he broke it’ – another ‘tough fish’ reference

‘a five-haired beard of wisdom trailing from his aching jaw’ – recognising the toll of these ‘battles’; she clearly respects him

‘victory filled up the little rented boat’ – whose victorious here?

‘until everything was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow’ – all the colours come together

‘and I let the fish go’ – climax is swiftly calmed down with this final line