I have a picture in my mind of the fish being a metaphor for an 'old, worn, experienced' man. I use the masculine because the author refers to the fish as 'He' in lines 5 – 7 and throughout the poem. I think the word tremendous (1) is meant to describe the importance of the fish rather than it's size. If the poet wanted to emphasize the stature of the fish she could have used a word that more describes the size such as 'huge'. The word tremendous is often used as a synonym for prodigious or stupendous.
The fact that the fish didn't fight (5) at all portrays an imagery of just being tired, too tired to fight. To further the picture, Bishop uses adjectives and metaphors ancient wallpaper representing the old man's skin.
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Based on the evidence of the poem, your perception to the word tremendous has a strong case in explaining the "true" purpose of its definition.
ReplyDeleteIn addition because of this "fish's" experience living, it probably learned that sometimes you don't have to fight to escape death even when it hurts you the most.
The author did not expect a fight less fish, and it may have felt the fish's mercy without feeling its mercy at the same time. It may have been the fish was just tired of living since it has lived long enough and the author felt that so the author let it go and presume the last of its days in peace.
Good gloss of a particular word choice.
ReplyDeleteDon't get too caught up on the suggestion of an "old man," however--yes, the fish is represented as an old man who has been through a lot, but the greater interest in the poem's imagery is in how it demonstrates both the way we find personal significance in the non-human other, but also how this act of appropriation often means the erasure of that other...