The Fish
Rainbow
How is the parlour described in the opening lines?
Cold "In the cold, cold parlor/ My mother laid out Arthur..."
What is written on the gas cans in the station?
ESO "esso—so—so—so"
In which city and state is the poem set?
Worcester, Massachussetts
What "illegal" things appear in the night sky?
"Fire balloons" (Paper lanterns)
Which two adjectives does Bishop use to describe the fish after catching it?
"Battered and venerable"
What sits below the artworks of royal figures?
A stuffed loon
What is the speaker fascinated by at the beginning of the poem?
The dirt of the station
What was spilling over "in rivulets of fire"?
Lava from a volcano
What national holiday sees Brazilian citizens lighting paper lanterns?
St. John's Day (Festa Junina)
Which simile suggests that the fish's skin is faded, worn, and layered?
"His brown skin hung in strips like ancient wallpaper"
What is Arthur holding in the coffin?
A tiny lily
What details represent the tenderness of ordinary life?
The doily, the dog on the wicker sofa, the comic books...etc
Who were "dressed in riding breeches"?
Osa and Martin Johnson
To which fellow poet, who spoke openly against war, is the poem dedicated to?
Robert Lowell
What hung from the fish's mouth and what is it compared to?
"Five old pieces of fish-line" hung from the fish's mouth, it is compared to "medals with their ribbons frayed and wavering"
Finish the quote, "Jack Frost had started to paint him
the way he always painted...
the Maple Leaf (Forever)."
How does the line, “Do they live in the station?” mark a shift in the poem?
Bishop moves from detached observation to forming an emotional connection with the scene
Why does the speaker continue reading, even though the magazine horrifies and embarrasses her?
She was "too shy to stop"
Finish the line, "Once up against the sky it's hard..
...to tell them from the stars."
What type of poem is The Fish?
A narrative poem
When the speaker retreats into a fantasy, what does she imagine that Arthur will be asked to do?
She imagines he will be asked to be "the smallest page at court" by "gracious" royal couples
What is the final line of the poem?
"Somebody loves us all."
Why does Bishop allude to the war at the end of the poem?
Even though the speaker is in a dull, safe environment, there is war and terror raging elsewhere in the world. She alludes to war to anchor her complex feelings about suffering and her place in the world.
What is the armadillo's frightened body compared to at the end of the poem?
"a weak mailed fist clenched ignorant against the sky"