Understanding “The Fish” Essay In the poem “The Fish”, the use of short lines and the presence of enjambments indicate that the poet Bishop gives it his own thoughts . This form of poetry gives the impression that the poet is not simply writing the words on a piece of paper but is speaking them out loud. The poem is presented in such a way that the audience feels as if the poet was present at the scene and recounting the events that occurred throughout the poem (Bishop 463). The poem is also written as a single stanza. The decision to write it this way was perhaps an attempt to describe the long ordeal that fishermen go through when fishing. By doing this, Bishop is able to prepare the audience for the poem and ensure that he describes it as terrible in order to help the audience visualize how the fish was panting and struggling for oxygen. The fish's gills have also been described as scary despite the role they play in safeguarding its survival. The descriptions help create a picture of the fish and its size so that the audience can understand what feat the narrator accomplished in catching it. Describing it as having "white, coarse flesh packed like feathers" (Bishop 463) intensifies the audience's opinion of the fish to a level where they can relate to the events that occurred in the ocean. Fish survival is therefore seen as nature's endurance and ability to persevere despite adverse challenges that may arise. It is also a statement demonstrating that despite the various harmful activities of humans, nature will always emerge victorious and continue to thrive. Out of courage or wisdom, the fish did not fight when it was caught by the narrator (Bishop 464). This may be due to his various encounters with fishermen. In its former state of disrepair, the narrator would have felt sympathy and simply let the fish go. His body was also in bad shape, filled with strings and wires. The narrator was able to understand the concept that no matter how much humans mistreated nature, it would continue to thrive like the fish did.