Basking Shark Flashcards
“Rock”
Metaphor
Likens the shark to a solid, hard rock
“slounge”
Word choice
Suggests a slow, leisurely movement
“happened once (too often)”
Parenthesis
Provides emphasis on the fact that it was a scary experience and he’d rather it not happen again. Light humour
“tin-tacked”
Metaphor
Implies the way the rain hits the water makes a somewhat pin-like shape
“roomsized monster with a matchbox brain”
Metaphor
Creature is huge and intimidating, which contrasts with its limited intelligence
He displaced more than water
Metaphor
Suggests that it wasn’t just the water that moved, but something in the poets head, epiphany
“Shoggled”
Word choice
Suggests the poet has been shaken, both physically and mentally moved
“Centuries back - this decadent townee”
Dash
Implies the poet had to take a pause
“Shook on a wrong branch of his family tree”
Metaphor
Encounter made poet think about our connection with these animals and nature
“slime of everything”
Word choice
‘slime’ suggests the idea of the very beginning of evolution
“So who’s the monster?”
Rhetorical Question
Suggests that we, as humans, are the monsters rather than the shark
Sail after sail
Metaphor
Compares shark to a graceful ship, gliding out of the harbour. Shark is elegant and smooth
“tail”
Word choice
Signifies the end of the poem, with the end of the shark being the tail, poet’s encounter is over
