The Fish.docx

The Fish.docx

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TheFish

On"TheFish"

PamelaWhiteHadas

"TheFish,"notproperlyan"animalpoem,"thoughitstitlesuggestsit,deepensoursenseofthis"unpreventableexperience,"thisqualityoflifethatdespitetheexuberanceoflivingformsandimmortalart,containsourdeath.Itisanimmenselypowerfulandbitterpoem.Itisfullofasenseofinfringement,violation,andinjury;itisalsoresigned."TheFish/wade/throughblackjade."Itisnotaneasy,fishlikemovement,butlaborious.andthewaterisnotliquidbutstone,nottranslucent,butdark.Oneofthemorosely-colored"crow-blue"mussels"keepsadjustingtheashheaps"onwhichitliesbyopeningandshuttingitself;itisnotahappyanimalexpression.Theshellmoves"likeaninjuredfan.""Thebarnacleswhichencrusttheside/ofthewave"—againthewaterisseenasanunpleasantlysolidsubstance—donothaveprivacy;"thesubmergedshaftsofthe/sun...movethemselves...intothecrevices—/inandout."Itisdeliberate,notplayful;notanexpansivesea,throughwhichanythingcanfreelymove,buta"seaofbodies."（Recalltheseaof"AGrave"intowhich"menlowernets,unconsciousofthefactthattheyaredesecratingagrave."）Thewater,thisevillyforcefulandsolidmass,"drivesawedge/ofironthroughtheironedgeofthecliff."Thisviolenceisfollowedbyachaoswherestarfish,jellyfish,crabs,andsubmarinetoadstools"slideeachontheother."Theseaisfullofinternalrevulsion.Whatstandsoutonthe"defiantedifice"ofthecliffare"all/external/marksofabuse...ac-/cident—lack/ofcornice,dynamitegrooves,burns,and/hatchetstrokes."Thesideofthischasmisdead.Thepoemends:

Repeated

       evidencehasprovedthatitcanlive

       onwhatcannotrevive

               itsyouth.Theseagrowsoldinit.

Theaccidentislack.Thechasmsideispermanentlymutilatedandabusedbysomemysteriousunpurposefulpurposefulnessofnature.Thisstrangepoemistheworkofathirty-year-oldwomanwhoseratherunnervinglycoolsympathiesliewithabatteredandviolatednature.Itisapoemaboutinjuryofwholeness,resentfulbutresigneddeprivation.Itcontainstheprophecyof"foiledexplosiveness"thatissuggestedbythelatepoem"ThentheErmine:

."Thesea,withallitsrushingsofindividuallives,allitsbodiesinjuredandinsulted,growsoldwithinits"dead"walls.Howdoesonemakeupforsuchunintentional,naturaldesecration?

Forwhatitisworth,onecaninventapersonalmyth.Onecantryandconvinceoneselfthatlifeiswortheffortsofaffectionandlovingobservation,thatvicariouspleasuresarereal,thatlossanddesecrationareonlytemporarysetbacksinavisionthatisessentiallywholeandinfrangible.Myths,likedreams,expresswishes,wishestodoawaywithlimitations.MarianneMooreexpressesherwisheswithasmuchdirectnessasshedoeshersenseoflimitation.

fromMarianneMoore:

PoetofAffection.Copyright?

1977bySyracuseUP.

TaffyMartin

In"TheFish,"forinstance,Mooreemploysatypicallyintricatestanzaicpatternalongwithevocative,sensuallanguagetocreateasceneasunfathomableasitinitiallyseemsspecific.Thefirstthreesentencesareclearenough.Thefish"wadethrough[the]blackjade"ofaseawhere"submergedshaftsofthe//sun...movethemselveswithspotlightswiftness."Nevertheless,evenwithinthosesentences,Moorehashintedatthebrokenvisiontofollow.Shedescribesthemovementofoneofthe"crow-bluemussel-shells"withcuriousindirection.Themovementofthesandhelpsaviewertoinferratherthantoobservedirectlythebrokenmovementoftheshells.Weknowonlythat"onekeeps/adjustingtheashheaps,/openingandshuttingitselflike//an/injuredfan."Therestofthepoemdevelopsthishintofsubmergedmovementandemphasizesitspotentialforviolence:

"Thewaterdrivesawedge/ofironthroughtheironedge/ofthecliff"andthecliffitselfshows"external/marksofabuse,"bothnaturalanddeliberatelyinflicted.Havingdevelopedtheapparentspecificityofthepoemtothispoint,Mooredissolvesthesceneinafloodofambiguity.Onesideofthecliffprovidesashelteredpoolforsealife.Indescribingit,Moorebeginsanewstanzawithanewsentence,atechniquewhich,inherpoems,oftenforetellsdissolution.

All

external

   marksofabusearepresentonthis

   defiantedifice-

       allthephysicalfeaturesof

ac-

cident--lack

   ofcornice,dynamitegrooves,burns,and

   hatchetstrokes,thesethingsstand

       outonit;thechasmsideis

dead.

Repeated

   evidencehasprovedthatitcanlive

   onwhatitcannotrevive

       itsyouth.Theseagrowsoldinit.

Contradictiondominatestheseimages."Lackofcornice,"ifitmeansanaturalcurvetotheedgeofthecliff,iscertainlyaphysicalfeatureofaccident;but"dy