Literary notes about Fish (AI summary)
The word "fish" in literature is employed in a variety of ways that extend beyond its literal sense, often serving as a rich metaphorical or symbolic element. Authors use fish to evoke natural abundance or scarcity—Thoreau observes that his pond is not very fertile in fish ([1]), while Chekhov and Kipling employ the act of catching fish to suggest a pursuit of opportunity or understanding ([2], [3]). In mythological and religious texts, fish take on spiritual significance, as seen in Homer’s portrayal of ancient fishing practices ([4]) and their ritualistic inclusion in biblical narratives ([5]). Meanwhile, in works such as Melville’s Moby Dick and Kipling’s Just So Stories, fish serve as playful symbols for human traits or social commentary ([6], [7]); and in scientific and observational writings, fish become a subject of detailed study, marking the boundary between art and nature ([8], [9]). This multifaceted usage illustrates how fish transcend their physical existence to represent deeper cultural, philosophical, and natural themes in literature.
- Nevertheless, this pond is not very fertile in fish.
— from Walden, and On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau - Let us catch fish!
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - Suppose a boat were lowered and I was ordered to go a hundred miles out to sea to fish—I would go.
— from Project Gutenberg Compilation of Short Stories by Chekhov by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov - Note 104 ( return ) [ In the islands of Favognana and Marettimo off Trapani I have seen men fish exactly as here described.
— from The Odyssey by Homer - And Jesus cometh and taketh bread and giveth them: and fish in like manner. 21:14.
— from The Bible, Douay-Rheims, Complete - And what are you, reader, but a Loose-Fish and a Fast-Fish, too? H2 anchor CHAPTER 90.
— from Moby Dick; Or, The Whale by Herman Melville - So he said to the ‘Stute Fish, ‘This man is very nubbly, and besides he is making me hiccough.
— from Just so stories by Rudyard Kipling - This is seen with typical regularity in the transverse section of the tail of a fish (Fig. 346).
— from Paradise Lost by John Milton - No one regards the external similarity of a mouse to a shrew, of a dugong to a whale, of a whale to a fish, as of any importance.
— from On the Origin of Species By Means of Natural Selection by Charles Darwin