Bishop’s manipulation of form further intertwines the reader with the speaker’s three-fold experience of catching, analyzing and then releasing the fish. Although she could have shortened “The Fish” or divided it into several stanzas, Bishop presents her poem in a compact lyric of seventy-six free verse lines, all in one stanza spanning across two pages. At first glance, the poem almost resembles a long descriptive list, particularly because each line of the poem is approximately the same length. Yet, a closer analysis reveals Bishop’s effective method of transposing the speaker’s active thought process into words. In a sense, the poem’s form cleverly mirrors its content, inducing readers to actively engage with the text. Just as the speaker …show more content…
Rather than simply “telling”, the poem moves from observation to illumination, and the fish’s pain is “revealed” through the content and literary devices of the poem.
By personifying the title fish and giving it human-like qualities, Bishop objectifies and allows its pain to be more clearly communicated. As Scarry theorizes, “If the referent for these now objectified attributes is understood to be the human body, the the sentient fact of the person’s suffering will become knowable to a second person” (Scarry 13). While Bishop’s personification does not explicitly present the fish as a human body, the implicit similarities underscored by the juxtaposition between the fish and the speaker allows the fish to transform from an alien “other” into a familiar one imbued with human qualities such as aging, perseverance and defeat. Bishop begins attributing human-like personalities to the fish early in the poem when the speaker observes that “He (the fish) hung a grunting weight, / battered and venerable/ and homely…” (7-9). By genderizing the fish, Bishop describes the fish in human terms and provides it with a personality.
He refers multiple times to fishing terms that the general audience may not be knowledgeable of such as “spinner” (“Once” para. 1), “hellgrammite” (“Once” para. 5), and “bass” (“Once” para. 5). These terms not only classify White as a fisherman but also suggest the importance or impact that fishing and the lake have on his life. By using logos in his writing, he gains credibility with his intended audience.
The short story “What, of this goldfish, Would You Wish?’ is a emotive short story
Behavioral Biologist at Edinburgh University, Victoria Braithwaite in her article, Hooked on a Myth, Published in Los Angeles Times 2006, addresses the topic of “fish have feelings”, and argues that we should adopt new ways of fishing. She supports this claim by the behavioral studies and experiments, as well as the examples and similarities the fish have with humans. She adopts a determined and passionate tone for her audience, the readers of Los Angeles Times and others interested in the topic animal justice.
In the poem The Sharks by Denise Levertov it is telling us her experience with sharks and how sharks were appearing in the sea .For example the quote “Dark fins appear,innocent as if fair warning.”This shows that she knew the sharks were lurking in the sea and she was noticing the dark fins in the ocean.As this was happening she knew the sea at the momment was threatening to swimmers and other people.This is important because the author is telling us what she is seeing and she is also descibing it to us in details exactly what she sees and feels at this moment in time.Another quote example is “I tell you they break six feet of water.”By this she means that the sharks can enter water as shallow as six feet.By this she was trying to say that
Woolf organizes her writing using various forms of syntax which contributes to the significance of the memory. The author’s portrayal of the setting is recounted with long, detailed sentences in order to illustrate its importance. The excitement of fishing is depicted as Woolf retells “Sometimes the lines would be handed to us; baited by gobbets cut from fish; and the line thrilled in one’s fingers as the boat tossed and shot through the water” (12-15). The author includes multiple semicolons not only to extend the sentence, but to also present similar ideas in a like structure. Notably, the author conveys tactile imagery to support the lengthy sentences with compelling details. The tossing of the boat and the touch of the fishing line embodies the exciting chaos the author had felt in the past. As a result, readers are then able to understand the specific attributes of Woolf’s memory that made the experience significant. Additionally, Woolf further develops the impact of her excitement as she describes “…and then- how can I convey the excitement? - there was a little leaping tug...” (15-17). Again, lengthy sentence structure helps to connect the images of her memory. The dashes communicate to readers a sense of the author’s internal thoughts, as if she was writing all that was on her mind. The dashes outline changes in the flow of the language, so that readers can note clearly defined shifts. They also symbolize the vividness of her memories, therefore the significance of the events in her situation. Unique from the majority of the sentences, Woolf includes declarative structure as she states “It was a perfect lesson” (25). The line stands out to the readers, amongst the other sentences, because of its length, which is intended to convey an idea directly. The
In Elizabeth Bishop's "The Fish," Bishop uses vivid imagery, and diction to allow the reader to picture the fish and create a connection with him, one of respect and admiration for him. The reader's mental image of the fish's struggles and appearance are so vibrant that the reader cannot help but believe that this fish could very well be real.
Thomas Benz 8/24/15 Per.2 R.A. #1 1.) Santiago is an old fisherman who is the main character in the story. 2.) Manolin is Santiago's friend, he also fished with him before he got bad luck.
What makes Bishop’s poem a valuable example of good poetry is the continuous flow of her poetry. All throughout her poem, there is never a lack of beautiful imagery and description of the fish, as she starts off describing its physical appearance to illustrating its internal organs. In the lines “I thought of the coarse white flesh / packed in like feathers… / of his shiny entrails / and the pink-swim bladder / like a big peony” (27-33), the use of diction is varied, from prevailing adjectives (shiny, battered, tarnished) to relatively vague words (entrails, islinglass). This is extremely effective in Bishop’s poem, as the powerful adjectives give a deeper understanding of her feelings towards the fish and the capture, while the relatively
The use of imagery in this poem creates a vivid image of each description that leaves the reader feeling connected to the author in unprecedented way. Even if you’re not a middle aged woman waiting for her daughter to come from from college, you still understand. This is because the author has used
The Fish is a narrative monologue composed for 76 free-verse lines. The poem is constructed as one long stanza. The author is the speaker narrating this poem. She narrates a fishing experience. The author is out in a rented boat on a body of water, presumably a lake. She tries to describe the fish to the fullest, which appears to be the purpose of the poem, without saying either the specie or an approximate age. The narration gives the impression that the fish is slightly old. There are a number of reasons as to why that fish got caught by the author, including time of day, the weeds weighing it down, fish’s age, and the fact that it has been previously caught five times.
From 1918-1919, the influenza virus swept the world and had disastrous effects. Different factor contributed to the spread of the virus. Many religious groups believed the virus was an evil that had fallen on the land and that only God can save them. Others caught the disease due to the lack of sanitary prevention, such as there being no inspections in the trading ports. Also many people were ignorant and knowledgeable about the pandemic because of the lack of response from health/government officials. In all, the lack of authority was a huge contributing factor to the spread of the influenza virus.
30 to 40 percent of single chronically homeless adults have a mental illness (Culhane). The majority of the mentally ill homeless population consist of those who struggle with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or manic-depression (Torrey). There are about 250,00 people living on the streets that struggle with a severe mental illness. The numbers continue to raise after the initial climb in the 1970's. More and more mentally ill are found chronically homeless each year. Many of the symptoms of mental illness inhibit people from normal day activities and relationships (Mojtabai).
In the poem “Introduction to Poetry,” Billy Collins contrasts a teacher’s passionate view of poetry with his students’ objective ones. The teacher urges the students to take the time to carefully examine a poem instead of forcing a deeper meaning out of its words. Collins uses imagery such as “press an ear against its hive” and “feel the walls for a light switch” to emphasize using all of the senses to fully experience a poem and to explain that there are various ways of approaching it. This imagery’s connotation also contrasts greatly with that of the students’. The teacher depicts creative and interesting ways of learning the true meaning of a poem while the students would rather “tie the poem to a chair with rope/and torture a confession
Small details are instrumental in seeing the bigger picture. This is apparent when reading “The Fish” by Elizabeth Bishop. Most often the reader experiences visual imagery in poetry. In this poem the reader encounters visual, auditory, and sensory imagery. “The Fish” is filled with minute details that paint a picture for the reader. With each new element that is introduced, it becomes easier to visualize the fish. The speaker is able to show the reader the beauty as well as the ugliness of this creature with her vivid imagery. The imagery used is so distinct that the reader can envisage being the fisherman and catching this fish. Another important element involved in this poem is irony.
o Page 49 “…the hooked fish, the female, made a wild, panic-stricken, despairing fight that soon exhausted her..”