Word/Phrases Meaning
In stanza 1, what are the two meanings of scales?
Musical scales & fish scales
This literary device is known as a "play on words"
What is pun?
Chunks in a poem- not paragraphs
What are stanzas?
How would you describe the male fish? Provide evidence.
He's love struck and wants to please the female fish. "He's a drifter, always floating around her."
What type of literary device is the following?
He is a shining star
What word would you use to describe how the male fish felt after being rejected by the female fish? What evidence can you provide to support your word?
Depressed, devastated.
"
His heart sinks
[20] like a fish. He drinks
like a stone. Drowns those sorrows,
stares emptily through glass"
What type of literary device is "diving for pearls like stars." How do you know?
It is a simile because of the word "like."
How is the text structured? (Hint: think plot- beginning, middle, end)
The first 3 stanzas talk about the love between the two fish, the last 2 talk about how their love falls apart.
In what way did the male fish set "unrealistic expectations of the female fish." Must say the line.
He wishes
she would sing, not much, just the scales;
"He is as strong as an ox."
This word from the text means "to roam around."
What is a drifter?
What is an example of figurative language in stanza 4?
"But her love's since gone belly up."
What is the author referring to when she uses parenthesis in the text?
She is referring to the fish bowl that the fish are stuck in.
What does this story reveal about the author's feelings towards love? How do you know?
She thinks love ends; sometimes ends in heartbreak. The two fish stopped loving each other when they couldn't give each other what they wanted- which was to leave the bowl.
What is the theme of the text?
Love is difficult to sustain and often fades.
You shouldn't expect too much from other people.
What is the purpose of the author using the pun "belly up?"
Belly up means "to die." When fish are belly up, it indicates they are dead. In this case, the love between the two fish is dead.
This type of literary device allows the reader to have an emotional connection the text.
What is mood?
What evidence can you provide from the text that shows how the female fish felt about the male fish in the beginning of the text?
"she makes fish eyes
and kissy lips at him, darts
[10] behind pebbles, swallows
his charms hook, line and sinker"
How does the author develop the point of view of the female fish? Use evidence to support our answer.
In the beginning the female fish loves the male fish, she "makes fishy eyes" at him. Towards the end, "her love's since gone belly up."
What does the word "bounded" mean?
From, "bounded by round walls"
Having limits
Which phrase from the text best shows why the fish wanted a "life beyond the bowl."
"Bounded by round walls."
This type of literary device makes the reader want to know what will happen next, it keeps them interested.
What is "suspense?"
What type of text structure is this poem written in? How do you know?
Sequence; the text first describes how the fish were falling in love and then how they fell out of love because they could not get out of the bowl.
In what point of view is this poem written? How do you know?
Third person omniscient- the author describes the thoughts and feelings of the characters.
How do puns help us understand the poem's overall meaning? (Think about the meaning of the poem first)
Even though this poem is about two fish who fall in and out of love with each other, it's comparable to how humans fall in and out of love.