Basking Shark Annotations Flashcards
to stub an oar
infinitive verbs
captures attention
on a rock
metaphor
comparing the shark to a rock - bulky/solid without feelings or intelligence
to have
infinitive verbs
captures attention
it rise
shark that is in charge
slounge
onomatopoeia
noise of waves, clumsy movement
once (too often)
although the poet is frightened, he tries to inject humour to make light on the situation
- (second stana)
sentence structure
indicates no rush, while it is frightening at first, he now thinks experience is worthwhile
i count as gian
emphasises experience is worthwhile - explains reasons why in the rest of the poem
that once i met
experience is now not shocking
on a sea tin-tacked with rain
visual/ aural imagery
can see and her the rain on the sea
roomsized monster
word choice
room sized - emphasises size of the mammal
monster - low down on evolutionary scale
matchbox brain
word choice
basic mammal - large mammal with small brain - like a dinosaur. opposite to us
all of second stanza
There is clever use of long and short vowels in this final line too; the long vowels in room size monster appropriately extend and elongate the expression to reinforce the size of the shark in contrast to the short, clipped vowels of matchbox brain
he displaced more than water
idea of shark making him rethink his life and man’s position in it
shoggled
shark in control again - shark moving him. self-deprecating use of colloquial words
centuries back
enjambment
draws attention to the word. shows he is thinking back to prehistoric times
decadent townee
word choice
Decadent 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 pleasure
shook on a wrong branch of his family tree
He Is reminded that this shark too is part of our family tree and is inextricably linked to us in much the same way as any other ancestor
swish up the dirt
onomatopoeia
The onomatopoeic swish of the water also alludes to the idea of displacement in the previous stanza
The dirt in this case is the murky thought of how humans evolved into what they now are. The idea of dirt in out origins continues with the choice of the word slime
emerging from the slime of everything
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
He primeval slime from which we and all other living organisms were created, linking the evolution of humanity once more with that of the shark
so who’s the monster?
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
Doesn’t think about it for long – emphasises how man is the monster
sail after sail, the tall fin slid away
Shark is an elegant being – contrast to at the start of the poem
