Exploring the Text

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  1. How does the speaker’s description of the fish change over the course of the poem?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - How does the speaker’s description of the fish change over the course of the poem?
  2. Trace the verbs in “The Fish,” from “I caught” in the first line to “I let” in the last. What do they have in common? What is the effect of their parallel structure?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Trace the verbs in “The Fish,” from “I caught” in the first line to “I let” in the last. What do they have in common? What is the effect of their parallel structure?
  3. You may notice that Elizabeth Bishop uses several similes (ll. 9–15, for example) and almost no metaphors. Why do you think she made that decision?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - You may notice that Elizabeth Bishop uses several similes (ll. 9–15, for example) and almost no metaphors. Why do you think she made that decision?
  4. How does the image in line 69, “where oil had spread a rainbow,” foreshadow the end of the poem? What do you think is the significance of the repeated “rainbow”?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - How does the image in line 69, “where oil had spread a rainbow,” foreshadow the end of the poem? What do you think is the significance of the repeated “rainbow”?
  5. How would the meaning of the poem change if Bishop’s last line had been “So I let the fish go”?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - How would the meaning of the poem change if Bishop’s last line had been “So I let the fish go”?
  6. Why do you think the speaker let the fish go? Refer to specific words, lines, and images in the poem to explain your answer.

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Why do you think the speaker let the fish go? Refer to specific words, lines, and images in the poem to explain your answer.
  7. In what way is “The Fish” a classic “fish tale” (a boast about the size of a catch)? In what way is it different?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - In what way is “The Fish” a classic “fish tale” (a boast about the size of a catch)? In what way is it different?