Similarities Between Marianne Moore's And The Fish

In Moore’s and Bishop’s “The Fish,” both poems dive below the surface describing a thing or place. Elizabeth Bishop’s take on her “Fish” poem is about how she gained respect for this wounded, old creature. While Marianne Moore’s reports a whole other world below ours, and how our dismissive ways turned this once beautiful place into a damaged, polluted one. The different takes on these poems named, “The Fish,” describe the special significance for an area or being, yet are unlike in attitude towards the subject. In Elizabeth Bishop’s “The Fish,” the tone of admiration is clear. The capturer gains respect for this aged animal, who has obviously overcome many battles. When Bishop catches this creature, there is a sense of curiosity, “He hadn’t fought. He hadn’t fought at all” (5-6). Already, she knew that this fish was different. This fish, unlike others, who would've flopped rapidly, hoping to escape its capturer, didn’t put up a fight. Throughout the poem, the tone of curiosity transforms into admiration. Bishop states, “I admired his sullen face, the mechanism of his jaw” (45-46). As Bishop begins to have a fascination about him, she starts to respect the fish’s dignity. From seeing all of the …show more content…
Despite Moore’s incorporation of destruction, there is also the aura of death, an example, “the turquoise sea of bodies” (16-18). The purpose of adding the darkness was to symbolize the damage done to chasm, by ignorant humans. She mixes both natural and human worlds to show that they are both equivalent in importance, even though humans think differently. The message that Moore cryptically says through this poem is that not only are human minds eroding from greed and corruption, but the outcome of their mistakes is leading to the cruel murder of natural