basking shark Flashcards
Stanza 1
to stub, to have (Word choice)
infinitive verbs capture attention
on a rock (Imagery)
metaphor comparing the shark to a rock - bulky and solid but not intelligent
it rise (Word choice)
word choice of ‘rise’ suggests shark is in charge/ dominant
slounge (Word choice)
onomatopoeia noises of waves, clumsy movement
once (too often) [word choice]
although poet is frightened he tries to inject humor (through parenthesis) to make light of the situation
Stanza 2
i count as gain (Word choice)
emphasises experience is worthwhile, explains reasons why in rest of poem
met (Word choice)
experience is now not a shock
on a sea tin tacked with rain (Imagery)
visual/aural imagery, can see and hear the rain on the sea
room sized monster (imagery)
word choice- room-sized emphasizes size of the shark
matchbox brain (Word choice)
a large animal with a small brain - like a dinosaur. opposite to humans
stanza three
he displaced more than water (Word Choice)
displaced - idea of shark making him rethink his life and mans position in it
shoggled (Word Choice)
“shoggled” - Shark in control again – shark moving him. Self deprecating
Use of colloquial words.
centuries (Word Choice)
Enjambment –
Draws attention to the word “centuries”.
Shows he is thinking back to prehistoric times.
decadent townee (imagery)
townee – Moved far away from his origins
Decadent – he has lost a sense of purpose in his life and become too immersed in the pursuit of hedonistic pleasures
Shook on a wrong branch of his family tree. (Word Choice)
Metaphor - He is reminded that this shark too is part of our own family tree and is inextricably linked to us in much the same way as any other ancestor.
Stanza 4
swish (Word Choice)
The onomatopoeic swish of the water also alludes to the idea of displacement in the previous stanza.
dirt (Word Choice)
The dirt in this case is the murky thought of how humans evolved into what they now are. The idea of dirt in our origins continues with the choice of the word slime
emerging
Growing up from prehistoric times.
The word emerging in the final line of this stanza reinforces this new, almost epiphanic sense of clarity associated with coming out of the dark into light,
slime of (Word Choice)
The primeval slime from which we and all other living organisms were created, linking the evolution of humanity once more with that of the shark.
everything (Word Choice)
How the poet is connected to every animal.
Stanza 5
So who’s the monster? (Word choice)
Not so confident as to who the superior being is. This magnificent, awesome creature is monstrous simply because of its relative size, but in the metaphorical sense it is clear the speaker now considers humanity to be the true monster.
For twenty seconds (Word choice)
Doesn’t think about it for long – emphasises how man is the monster
sail after sail,
tall fin slid away
Shark is an elegant being – contrast to at the start of the poem
