The Fish And The Victory

485 Words2 Pages
Elizabeth Bishop use of imagery really employs the reader’s five senses to understand and appreciate her poem The Fish. The author first uses imagery to help readers see the fish. She describes the fish as, battered and venerable and homely. Here and there his brown skin hung in strips like ancient wall-paper (8-11). Through the image of the wallpaper you can clearly imagine the decay the fish has experienced. Bishop’s use of imagery allows readers to get a clear image of the state of the fish. Bishop also shows the readers what the fish has gone through by stating “that from his lower lip- if you can call it a lip- grim, wet and weapon like, hung five old pieces of fish-line” (48-51). The author uses imagery to describe the wisdom of the fish, “Like medals with their ribbons frayed and wavering, a five haired beard of wisdom trailing from his aching jaw” (51-64). Without Bishop’s use of imagery the reader might of mistaken this story for a plain fishing story instead of a story about empathy and victory. The concept of victory is very prominent in both poems The fish and The Victory. Although, the poems both have to do with the theme of victory, they are very different poems. In the poem the Fish the concept of victory is very present because the fish has overcome so much and has had victory over many other fishermen. Elizabeth Bishop states, “I stared and stared and victory filled up the little rented boat” (64-66). The fisherman is filled with victory from doing what other fishermen were unable to do: catch this fish. Even though the author has caught the fish, he admires the fish for what it has overcome and appreciates the magnificence of nature and releases the fish. By reading the poem carelessly, one could think that the fish won the fight, but the fish was not able to escape capture and the fishermen did what others couldn’t: catch the fish. The only
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