Basking Shark Flashcards
1
Q
“To stub an oar on a rock where none should be, to have it rise with a slounge out of the sea”
A
- the rock resembles the shark.
- enjambment emphasises that the shark is moving slowly and is unthreatening.
2
Q
“That once I met, on a sea tin-tacked with rain”
A
- clearly describes the setting.
- plosives sounds (onomatopoeia and alliteration)
- personifying the shark.
3
Q
“That roomsized monster with a matchbox brain”
A
- emphasises size of shark.
- contrasting the size of the shark to the size of its brain.
- suggests the shark is not mentally clever therefore is unthreatening.
4
Q
“He shoggled me centuries back”
A
- the shark has physically and metaphorically shook the poet.
- enjambment emphasises how deeply the shark has made him think.
5
Q
“This decadent townee shook on a wrong branch of his family tree”
A
- comparing the evolution of humans to the evolution of sharks.
6
Q
“Emerging from the slime of everything”
A
- makes the reader think of the process of the evolution of human life.
- shows how this experience has given the poet a better understanding of his place in evolution.
7
Q
“So who’s the monster?”
A
- rhetorical question.
- makes you think how humans are the real monsters and not sharks.
