Basking Shark Flashcards
To stub
Beginning line with infinitive puts emphasis on the word stub showing the drama of the moment
Stub
Blunt motion
Suddenly and abruptly stopped
Rock
Metaphor shows that shark is hard solid and not living or intelligent
Slounge
Onomatopoeia and word choice
Suggests sound of movement, the shark moving clumsily out of the sea
To stub…
To have…
Repetition build momentum towards final line
Slounge… Sea
Alliteration to draw attention to moment
Is a thing that happened once (too often) to me
Deliberately clumsy sentance structure creates a sense of awkwardness at an uncomfortable memory
(Too often)
Adds a tone of humour
But not too often - though enough
Disjointed sentance structure makes it look as if Macaig is changing his mind on how he views the experience
After carefully controlled infinitive verb structure the syntax seems to break down suggesting confusion
A sea tin tacked with rain
Metaphor, alliteration, onomatopoeia
Creates picture of sharp raindrops hitting relentlessly off the surface
Harsh T sounds conveys pinging noise of raindrops emphasising metaphor
That room sized monster with a matchbox brain
Creates contrast highlighting the two most significant aspects of the shark:
It’s huge size (terrifying)
It’s tiny brain - primitive and underdeveloped since ancient times
He shoggled me
Literally: nudged boat
Metaphorically: physical sense of abrupt thump
Decadent Townee
Word choice
Family tree
Metaphor suggesting family links
Swish up the dirt and when it settles, a spring
Is all the clearer. I saw me, in one fling
Extended metaphor
Emphasises vital point that unsettling our complacent assumptions can lead to greater clarity
If our ideas are shaken we may feel muddled at first but after see clearer
