Basking shark Flashcards
“To stub an oar on a rock where none should be”
Word choice of “stub” connotes something sudden or unexpected
This highlights the speakers sock that he has made contact with the shark
Metaphor
Literally a rock is a bulky, heavy brainless stone. This is an effective metaphor as by comparing the shark to a rock, MacCaig presents his initial perspective of the basking shark as being a huge animal with no feelings or intelligence, before he realises its power in its natural habitat.
Basking shark key themes
Evolution
Man’s superiority
Personal experience
Isolation
“Thing that happened once (too often) to me”
Sentence structure
The use of the parenthesis implies they don’t want to evened repeat the experience
However, when it happened they were afraid but are now trying to make light of it through a humorous tone
“Wrong branch of his family tree”
Word choice of “wrong” connotes incorrect and flawed
This suggests that humanity has evolved in the wrong direction and become something that is damaging and detrimental to our planet
We may be more evolved than the sharks but is that a good thing?
“He displaced more than water”
Word choice of “displaced” connotes unsettled and shaken up
This suggests his thoughts has been forced out of position allowing him to rethink humanities place on earth
May also suggest the discomfort he felt from realising that we are closer to sharks on the evolutionary scale than we would like to acknowledge
This is also a metaphor. This imagery conveys that as well as displacing a vast amount of water due to the sheer size of the animal the poet has also been metaphorically displaced as he is now thinking about the evolutionary process and man’s position in it.
“Sea tin-tacked with rain”
Metaphor comparing a tin tack which is a shark pin to the rain droplets
The alliteration of the hard t sound in “tin tacked” suggests the staccato sound of the rain
“Room sized monster with a matchbox brain”
Word choice of “monster” connotes dangerous and low down on the evolutionary scale
This suggests the speaker thinks he is superior to the basic undeveloped shark
The size is further suggested by the long vowel sounds in “room sized” to elongate expression in contrast to the short snappy vowel sounds in “matchbox”
This highlights the huge contrast between the sharks physical size compared to his tiny brain
“So who’s the monster?”
Sentence structure
Use of rhetorical question highlights the speaker is unsure of his superiority over the shark he previously called a monster
Humans have evolved to be more intelligent, but he now considers humanity to be the true monster on the planet
“Sail after sail”
Metaphor
Literally a sailing ship is a boat powered by winds and these ships are often seen as very beautiful and graceful. This effective metaphor conveys that MacCaigs perspective of the shark has changed since the beginning of the poem and he now respects the shark and sees it as an elegant creature
“Pale” “tale” “sail”
Use of repeated long vowel sounds creates a soft gentle end to the poem and mirrors the gradual motion of the shark as it swims away
The speaker now sees the shark as an elegant and majestic creature which contrasts to the beginning of the poem
“Emerging from the slime of everything”
“Slime” represents the primordial ooze in which all organisms evolved from
This reminds us that sharks and humans all come from the same original source highlighting we are not as different from them as we would like to think
Word choice of “everything” connotes something in its entirety and all of it
This highlights that the speaker now feels connected to not just the shark but to all life on earth
“Swish up the dirt, and when it settles, a spring is all the clearer”
Metaphor
Just as the water has been disturbed meaning it is impossible to see through as it is cloudy ,so too has the speakers head becoming foggy after the initial shock of the encounter
However eventually the sediment in the water will settle making the water clear again, and after the speaker recovers from the shock his thoughts will also become clear again
