Introduction
In the poem “The Fish” the poet uses imagery in the entire poem to help in creation of vivid image in the readers mind. “The Fish” as the title is a kind of symbolism or metaphor, that is, it reflects the importance of the fish to life of the narrator. The poet uses various tones in the entire poem which imply different descriptions. In description of the fish, the poet uses a didactic tone to portray the appearance of the fish. The admiration tone occurs when the narrator describes the fish sharp grills, shiny entrails and white fresh of the underneath scales. In addition, when the poet narrates about the rusted hooks in fish lip, it indicates the tough life which the fish has lived. The imagery used, tones and similes are used makes the poem more appealing and enjoyable. These styles bring up pictures in reader’s mind and create suspense of what t expect in the next line.
The poet talks about the fisherman “Fish” who narrates the story of a fish he caught. The poet uses past tense in his writing to portray the level of appreciation the fisherman has towards the fish. The fish is respected and the poet portrays this fish as homely but it is injured and vulnerable to fishermen hooks. As the fisherman continues observing the fish, he recounts his thoughts process when he claims that the fish is an ugly creature. Due to the fisherman interest he continues observing the fish keenly and that’s when he started noticing the external features of the fish which include; bones and entrails, gills, and other organs. Eventually he landed on the eyes where he beeps to the fish’s souls.
The narrator further sees the lip of the fish hooked up with five hooks, his included. The fisherman stipulates that the ugly fish might have given up on his life. The fisherman wondered why the fish did not put on a fight when it was caught since it has defended its life for so long by avoiding the hooks and nets. The fisherman’s veneration is portrayed in such a way that what was once a mechanism is now being considered as an aching jaw as the fisherman observe. The poet uses personification to communicate some facts about the fish and its life, a good example is where the poet uses some phrases to show the innocence and vulnerability of the fish.
The appreciation for the fish extended towards some ugly parts of the narrators life and his surroundings. A good example is the boat that the narrator is sitting on that is filled with the victory. In essence, this victorious nature belongs to the boat but not the fisherman who instead would be victorious of catching such big fish. It is coincidental that the fisherman understands the boat that he is currently using was a rented one and it has lived in its life experiencing hardships and trials the same way as the fish.
The narrator concludes that the bat and the fish in question deserve to be respected for living and overcoming such hardships in life. After he left the water for the land, the fisherman speculates that the same case is going to happen in his life. He will go through the same experience in hardship like the fish. The poems end after the fisherman releases the fish back to the water. Although he did not have full explanation for that perhaps he felt bad for the fish either he respects the significance of the fish’s life or either he wanted another person to learn from his own lesson of catching it.
