Question

Which lines in this excerpt from Elizabeth Bishop's "The Fish" suggest that the speaker respects the fish?

1)A green line, frayed at the end
where he broke it, two heavier lines,
2)and a fine black thread
still crimped from the strain and snap
3)when it broke and he got away.
4)Like medals with their ribbons
frayed and wavering,
5)a five-haired beard of wisdom
6)trailing from his aching jaw.

Answer 1

4)Like medals with their ribbons 
frayed and wavering, 

and 

5)a five-haired beard of wisdom 

Answer 2

Answer: The right answers are the 4 ("Like medals with their ribbons frayed and wavering") and the 5 ("a five-haired beard of wisdom").

Explanation: Just to elaborate a little on the answer, it can be added that in this part of the poem it is very noticeable that the speaker is looking at the fish with amazement - a few lines earlier she has said "I admired his sullen face." "Like medals with their ribbons / frayed and wavering, / a five-haired beard of wisdom" is a reference to the fish-line and other small pieces of fishing equipment that hung from the lower part of the fish's jaw. Rather than simply describing them, she poetically compares them to medals and a scarce beard of wisdom, which suggests that she respects the fish - as she does, letting him go eventually.