Basking shark Flashcards
To stub an our on a rock where none should be
Metaphor compares the writers initial thought of the shark to a rock - bulky/solid but lacking intelligence.
To have it rise
Shark is in charge
With a slounge out the sea
Wc of slounge - made up word - onomatopoeic sound of the oceans - suggest lazy and lethargic movements
A thing that happened once (too often) to me
Parenthesis adds extra info - in this case a piece of humour to the situation despite being frightened also shows he is u sure whether experience was positive.
I count as gain
Gain enjambed at end of line adds emphasis to the word “gain” suggest something has been added to him - making the experience seem worthwhile.
That i once met
Word choice of met suggests two people coming into contact with one another, this shows that the writer believes that meeting the shark was almost a humane experience showing his lack of fear and that the experience was worthwhile.
That room sized monster
Metaphor emphasises great size.
With a matchbox brain
Metaphor of matchbox emphasises something very small in comparison to its great size.
He displaced more than water
Word choice of “he”
He suggests a more respectful way of talking about something compared to “it” shows the writer has more respect towards the shark.
He shoggled me
Wc of shoggled suggests shaking and moving both literally and figuratively in this situation, shows the shark is in control as he is still having effect in writer.
Centuries back
Enjambed adds emphasis to the phrase, shows he has been really affected by the shark and is thinking back to the prehistoric times.
This decadent TOWNEE
W choice of townee is self deprecating humour as it is usually an insult aimed at people like him as they don’t belong in the countryside. Shows that he has been forced to think about himself through this experience.
This DECADENT townee
W choice of decadent suggests a lack of purpose and only interested in passing pleasures. This look into himself shows that the experience of encountering the shark forced the writer to think about the self.
SHOOK on the wrong branch of the family tree
“Shook” is enjambed at the start of the line adds emphasis to the word. “Shook” suggests a vigorous movement shows the profound effect the meeting on the writer,
Swish up the dirt
Onomatopoeic “swish” of the water links back to the movement of water linked back to in last stanza.
Swish up the dirt and, when it settles, a spring is all the clearer
This metaphor compares the process of the writers thoughts clarifying to cleaning a small pool of water. Cleaning up the spring involves moving about all the water in it, similarly it took a shark “displacing” the water around the poet to clear up the writers thoughts. This metaphor emphasises the process by which the shark clarified the writers thoughts
I saw me, in one fling
Word choice of fling has connotations of a sudden and shocking change, in this case it shows the writers shocking and new attitude.
EMERGING from the slime of everything
Word choice of emerging suggests an epiphanic awakening and coming into the light, showing that the impact this experience had on the writer was great.
Emerging from the SLIME of everything
Word choice of slime suggests unpleasant and humble beginning referencing the idea that at one point the shark and he were both fundamentally the primeval slime linking humanities evolution to that of the sharks.
Emerging from the slime of EVERYTHING
The word choice of “everything” suggests all and entirety. In this case it is used to show how the poet now feels connected to every single animal.
So who’s the monster?
Rhetorical question the poet is now engaging with the question- he is not as sure of the Shark being the monster as he was in the first stanza.
For twenty seconds while, sail after sail
Is a metaphor.
It compares the fin of the shark to the sail of a boat. Literally a boat is something elegant and beautifully engineered. Like a boat, the poet believes the shark to be stunningly crafter and mesmerising, completely contrasting his belief in stanza one.
The tall fin slid away
The word choice of slid suggests natural, easy and elegant. Showing that the writer believes the shark to move away in a very graceful way. Completely contrasting his impression of it in the opening Stanza
