Most poems tend to have a deeper meaning that goes beyond the initial impression. This statement is true with Elizabeth Bishop's "The Fish." "The Fish" tells the story of the speaker catching a tremendous fish out at sea. As the speaker examines the fish, old and decrepit, five broken fishing hooks can be found dangling from its lower lip. While initially, the speaker does not think much of the fish; her attitude quickly changes upon discovering these fishhooks. With influences from her sympathy for the fish and the beauty of the surroundings, the speaker sets the fish free. By examining the speaker's initial impression of the fish, her reaction upon discovering the fishhooks, and her outlook change after this, the true meaning of the fish's release becomes clearer.  

When the speaker first catches the fish, she is astonished by its enormous size yet confused by its lack of resistance. "He didn't fight. / He hadn't fought at all (5.)"  She wondered why such a mighty creature did not even attempt to escape. Perplexed, the speaker begins to examine the fish more closely. It appeared "battered and venerable / and homely (8-9.)"  However the speaker sees beauty in the fish, finding patterns of roses in the age-spots of its peeling skin, ridden with barnacles and sea-lice. She stares at it, thinking about the vivid colors of its insides; black, red, and pink "like a big peony (33.)" She goes on to think about its flesh and bones, and starts to sympathize upon noticing its sharp, red gills "breathing in / the terrible oxygen (22-23.)" She looked deep into the fish's large, empty eyes. Although it looked around, it never looked back at her. These lines of the poem, 1-44, are important because they explain the speaker's first impression as well as her examination and description of the fish. In the beginning, her excitement upon catching the fish does not last long considering her immediate confusion about its lack of struggle. Through these lines, her sympathy towards the fish becomes increasingly obvious as she describes its torn, infested skin and wheezing gills. As she looked into its eyes, she hoped it would look back, but "It was more like the tipping / of an object toward the light (43-44.)"

She broke eye contact to examine the fish's features. "I admired his sullen face, / the mechanism of his jaw (45-46.)" Her changing feelings about the fish grow obvious in this statement as she cherishes the fish's appearance, where in previous lines she described it as ugly and mangled. As her eyes lowered on its face she noticed something on its mouth. Five hooks and frayed fish-line dangled from its lower lip, grown in place over time. These green and black tattered lines were the evidence of this giant fish's former escapes from previous fishermen.

Like medals with their ribbonsfrayed and wavering,a five-haired beard of wisdomtrailing from his aching jaw (61-64.)

As the fishhooks and lines hang from its lip, the speaker's feelings towards the fish become most evident. The discovery of these five dangling lines changes her feelings from sympathy for the fish to respect and understanding.  She compares the hooks and wire to prizes or rewards, as if the fish had won five individual battles. No longer did she consider the fish old and decrepit, but wise and brave, deserving of medals and trophies. 

These five tattered lines changed everything for the speaker. Just as she had examined the fish earlier, she began to examine her surroundings.  As she stood in her tiny rented boat, she noticed some water collected at the bottom. A little oil from the engine had mixed with the bile, resulting in a rainbow spread all throughout the boat ... 

 ... to the bailer rusted orange,

the sun-cracked thwarts,

the oarlocks on their strings,

the gunnels -- until everything

was rainbow, rainbow, rainbow! (71-75)

The speaker becomes overwhelmed with emotion upon taking in all her surroundings. Between the discovery of the fishhooks in the creature's lip and the rainbow from the oil spread throughout the little boat, the speaker has a change of heart and releases the fish. 

The speaker's initial triumph upon catching the fish evolves to a greater victory by the end of the poem. While the capturing of a giant fish despite facing no resistance seemed to be pleasing to the speaker, her true emotion was shown as she began to sympathize with the creature. Looking past its battered exterior, the speaker thinks of its interior instead: feather-like flesh and bones of all different sizes. She thinks of its perfectly functioning entrails, and notices its struggling gills. However, the poem really changes upon her noticing of these five fishhooks and wires dangling from the fish's mouth. It is at this point that she gains a true respect for this creature. As the water and oil mixed together to form a rainbow, the speaker continues to stare at the fish in admiration and "victory filled up / the little rented boat (66-67.)"

