The Speaker
The speaker is an unidentified person who undergoes a joyful, transformative moment after catching a fish. At the beginning of the poem she appears to be on a leisurely fishing trip in a rental boat, and when she happens to catch a large fish, she examines it nonchalantly. As she does so, paying attention to the details of its body, she starts to develop a deeper appreciation for the creature—one that is deepened all the more by evidence that it has previously been caught and, somehow, escaped death. Eventually, moved by the encounter, the speaker releases the fish. This speaker is clearly observant, attending to minute sensory detail. She is also empathetic and open-minded, able to appreciate the fish as an individual and to take joy, and participate in, its ongoing victory.
The Fish
In a sense, the fish is not a character at all: it is not human and remains more or less passive as the speaker catches it, examines it, and releases it. But in another sense, this poem's central conflict is precisely the speaker's recognition of the fish, not as an object, but as a character—an individual unto itself. Through the speaker's close observation, the fish's history comes to light, and both speaker and reader come to see it as a being with its own troubles, conflicts, and victories. These struggles and victories are made evident in the hooks and fishing wires that remain lodged in its lip. Through these objects, the speaker sees that the fish has been caught before, but has nevertheless lived. The speaker recognizes that the fish possesses a story and a subjectivity of his own, and finds the animal compelling enough that she prioritizes his ongoing victory and releases him.
