In reading the poem, “The Fish”, one can see a speaker who operates with different motives than most fishermen. To develop a profile of this speaker and better understand this poem, certain details of the text need to be pointed out and elaborated on. First, vivid descriptions of the fish and the obvious imagination of the speaker. Second, the speaker’s actions after catching the fish show the motive. Finally, the tone and flow of the poem itself. An analysis of these details show that the speaker found victory not in catching the fish, but in conquering an internal struggle.

The most obvious contribution to the theme of the poem was the speaker’s description of the fish. The speaker started by painting a picture of what was visible. She described the “fine rosettes of lime” that were barnacles (Line 17). Full blown roses were the visual for the elaborate pattern of the fish’s scales (14). Notice the speaker’s use of color and patterns in the descriptions of the fish. The addition of colors and patterns show the speaker’s deeply artistic character. The poem is meant to be seen as a painting as well. The speaker moves to what is inside the fish, speaking of the “coarse white flesh” (27), and the “dramatic reds and blacks of his shiny entrails” (30-31). Then, “the pink swim-bladder like a big peony” (32-33). This is the first time the speaker begins to see practical uses of the fish, possibly considering it as a food source. He also mentions a peony, which is the second mention of a flower in the poem. This mental back and forth between admiration and practicality is something every true fisherman deals with.

The speaker says the fish is “... infested / with tiny white sea-lice” (17-18). The brevity of these lines and contrast from the previously beautiful descriptions of the fish indicates an upcoming shift in the poem. The speaker continues with more crude descriptions of the fish: “underneath two or three / rags of green weed hung down” (20-21). These lines speak to the age and experience of the fish. Another color, green, is added to the poem’s hypothetical pallet. The author continues to wake us up from the dreamy descriptions of the fish in lines 22 through 23: “... His gills were breathing in / the terrible oxygen.” This is the first time the speaker brings up the fact that the fish is a living animal that is in a life threatening situation. This causes us to wonder what the speaker will do next.

What the speaker will do with the fish ultimately will resolve all conflicts in the poem. The whole poem has been comprised of two struggles. First, the physical aspect: man versus fish. The victory is clear in this struggle. He fights the fish and wins when he brings it next to the boat. Second, the mental struggle: man versus self. The entire poem goes back and forth between objective and sentimental descriptions of the fish. The struggle even occurs between meer spurts of thought: “and then I saw / that from his lower lip / —if you could call it a lip—”. In the span of two lines, he personifies the fish and second guesses his description. This conflict of emotion and objectiveness comprises the majority of the poem. It also causes the reader to wonder through the entirety of the poem which side of the speaker will be victorious. Will the speaker’s emotions win him over and cause him to release the fish? Or, will he give in to his practical side and keep the fish for food or bragging rights?

The tone is respectful and reverent through and through. The speaker has an obvious respect for the fish that most other fisherman don’t seem to have. The descriptions of the fish end on a positive note. The speaker concludes his descriptions with a final line that shows care for the fish, speaking of “a five-haired beard of wisdom / trailing from his aching jaw” (63-64). The speaker wraps up his thoughts in a positive way, enjoys the victories over the fish and his own indifference, and lets the fish go. The poem ends pleasantly, all the while having a tonal pattern and change similar to the process of fighting and losing a fish - a steady buildup of focus broken by an abrupt end. In addition, the speaker uses the many colors in the poem as a driving force behind the final lines: “(Everything) was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow! / And I let the fish go” (75-76).

This analysis has helped me develop a better understanding of what the poem means, and how the speaker used description and tone to convey that meaning. First, the intricate description of the fish showed the speaker’s attentiveness, care, and internal struggle. The back and forth between beauty and reality was balanced perfectly. (Bishop 10-40). Secondly, the release of the fish signified a conclusion of the fisherman’s internal and external battles (Bishop 76). And, finally, the overall tone and flow of the poem was a beautiful picture of the struggles we face every day. 

At face value, we see the physical struggle of man versus fish. But, as we analyze the poem, we see the real struggle of man versus emotions, or man versus self. Through analyzation of the speakers vivid descriptions, concluding actions, and the overall tone of the poem, a conclusion can be reached about the overall theme of this poem. This close reading shows that the speaker found victory not in the physical battle, but in the internal one.
