| |
| |
Diction in "The Fish"
Bishop’s vocabulary in “The Fish” enables us to see the fish as she does. She does not generally use words that only fishermen would understand, and yet her descriptions are specific enough to paint the scene clearly. Her syntax is characterized by appositive phrases, a device that gives her diction a slight complexity appropriate to the subject.
- lines 8/9 - "battered and venerable and homely"
These words demonstrate Bishop’s command of a vocabulary that is precise and controllable. These words, while not transparently descriptive, nevertheless have very specific connotations.
- line 31 - "shiny entrails"
“Shiny entrails” (31) is tough, descriptive language; it is appropriate to the visceral experience of catching the fish.
- line 41 - "old scratched isinglass"
Bishop’s use of “old scratched isinglass” (41) allows her to suggest a plausible description of the fish’s lens (isinglass can mean thin, transparent sheets of mica) while demonstrating her knowledge of a potential use for the fish (isinglass can also be a transparent, almost pure gelatin prepared from the air bladder of sturgeon and certain other fish).
- line 49 - "—if you could call it a lip—"
Appositive phrases, those little “asides” in the middle of a sentence, such as “if you could call it a lip” (49), characterize Bishop’s syntax. The complexity suggests that the poem is not simply about catching fish.
|
|
|
 |
