From the onset of civilization, society has increased its capabilities in the quest for survival. Methods of achieving fundamental needs have been belittled through modernization. In 1946, a time period defined by abundant technological advancement, Elizabeth Bishop describes the art of capturing a fish from water, an act once used simply as a food source, in her poem “The Fish.” As the narrator caught the fish only to observe and then release the creature, the reader develops a desire to discover exactly what is being observed. Upon analysis of the work, the poem represents Bishop’s personal life, historical events of importance to her, and her vi