To love it no more than (as well as) a FISH loves water

Insights

Natural Affinity

Literally, a fish’s existence is inseparable from water, so the phrase may suggest an essential, inborn love or need for something—a perfect fit or complete belonging.

Total Indifference (Irony)

However, in most uses (including Shakespeare’s), the phrase is ironic: to claim one loves something 'no more than a fish loves water' is to say one has no love for it at all, since a fish, being so natural in water, is not conscious of love toward it, or takes it entirely for granted.

Historical Symbolism

Fish and water have symbolized inseparable relationships in European literature since antiquity, but the proverb’s irony emerges from flipping this symbolism—transforming total dependence into an emblem of unconsciousness or lack of passion.

Literary Resonance

Shakespeare’s use in 'All’s Well That Ends Well' (“No more than a fish loves water”) provides a memorable instance of the phrase’s ironic turn: the speaker claims indifference with an image of naturalness, masking rejection beneath apparent affinity.

Psychological Dimensions

The proverb exposes how people may take for granted what is ever-present or necessary, mistaking habitual coexistence for genuine affection, and thus serves as a vehicle for understated dismissal.

Rhetorical Devices

Irony

The core of the phrase’s modern use is ironic reversal: what sounds like an expression of perfect compatibility is actually a witty claim of indifference or disregard.

Simile

By comparing love (or lack thereof) to a fish’s relationship with water, the proverb uses a familiar natural image to sharpen its emotional point.

Symbolism

Water, as a symbol of life and necessity, and the fish as its natural inhabitant, combine to create a vivid metaphor for unconscious dependence or unnoticed essentiality.