He didn't fight.
He hadn't fought at all.
With these lines, the speaker demonstrates the power imbalance between herself and the fish. Despite his previously mentioned size, the fish is unable to even attempt an escape. The repetition of this sentiment in two subsequent lines works not only to emphasize the fact, but also to show the speaker's feeling of wonder—she appears to be in some disbelief. The slight tense shift to the past perfect, which allows Bishop to show the speaker looking back at her experience with the fish even as it is ongoing, further demonstrates her disbelief and effort to comprehend the fish's blend of power and powerlessness.
and its pattern of darker brown
was like wallpaper:
shapes like full-blown roses
stained and lost through age.
In some ways, the comparison of the fish to wallpaper creates an ironic juxtaposition between the realm of the human and domestic, on the one hand, and that of the animal, on the other. It emphasizes, through juxtaposition, the fish's foreignness to the speaker and to the speaker's human world. But in another sense, by comparing the fish to something intimate and human, the speaker is demonstrating her growing empathy for and curiosity about the animal. Moreover, by specifically referring to stained, faded wallpaper, the speaker links the fish's battered appearance to that of something antiquated and even historical, suggesting that the fish itself has a unique history.
Like medals with their ribbons
frayed and wavering,
a five-haired beard of wisdom
trailing from his aching jaw.
The speaker here argues that the fish is not merely an individual worthy of sympathy, but in fact a kind of hero. She makes this argument obliquely, through simile, which keeps the poem from edging into sentimental or overwrought territory. By comparing the wires stuck in his jaw to medals, the speaker hints that the fish is akin to a battle-scarred, decorated warrior, and elevates his survival against humans to a new, dramatic level. Next, by comparing the wires to a "beard of wisdom," the speaker not only insinuates that the fish is wise but also links that wisdom to its age, experience, and history. The word "aching" plays a barely-noticeable yet key role in the poem. The speaker now empathizes with the fish so strongly that she has a sense of how it feels to be him, entering into his embodied experience.
And I let the fish go.
This poem is made up of long, breathless sentences, broken up into short, fragmented lines. This demonstrates the speaker's winding journey from detached interest in the fish to delighted fascination with it. In this final line, however, the speaker is no longer on that journey. As she asserts her agency and decides to release the fish, she acts decisively and confidently, having experienced a transformative encounter with the natural world. This last sentence, then, in contrast to the rest of the poem, is limited to a single succinct line, reflecting the speaker's resolute attitude.
