“The Fish” Bishop

"I caught a tremendous fish"

Personal, poet is excited about the size of the fish

"He didn't fight. He hadn't fought at all"

Poet is surprised that the fish isn't resisting. The fish accepts his fate

"His brown skin hung in strips like ancient wallpaper"

Simile, visual imagery, describing the fish's skin falling off, shows poet's attention to detail

"Shapes like Full-blown roses stained and lost through age"

Depth, detail, patterns in the fish's skin

Coarse white flesh packed in like feathers

Unusual simile that describes the interior of the fish

Pink swim-bladder like a big peony

Simile that compares fish's entrails to a flower

"Irises backed and packed with tarnished tinfoil seen through the lenses Of old scratched isinglass"

Describes the fishes irises and suggests that his vision is clouded.

"I saw that from his lower lip- if you could call it a lip-grim, wet and weaponlike, hung Five old pieces of fishline

Poet reveals that the fish was caught 5 times, shows his struggle in life

Like medals with their ribbons frayed and wavering, A five-haired beard of wisdom trailing from his aching jaw"

Medals are compared to war medals, compares fish to a wise old man

He was speckled with barnacles, fine rosettes of lime, and infested with tiny White Sea-lice

Description of the fish that shows it is weather but also has delicate floral details

A green line frayed at the end where it broke, two heavier lines, fine black thread criped from the strain and snapped when he got away.

Description of the fishing lines

Until everything was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow! And I let the fish go.

Final line of the poem and moment of epiphany.