basking shark (critical essay) Flashcards
Introduction
“Basking Shark’ by Norman MacCaig is a poem in which a vivid description of a memorable event is described. The poet has an important encounter with this animal, not just because it is exciting, but because it helps him change his thoughts about humans’ place in evolution. He has a surprise meeting with a basking shark, which frightens him at first, but as the poem goes on he realises that the shark has more to fear from him than he does from the shark. MacCaig emphasises this realisation through word choice, imagery and sentence structure.
Analysis Paragraph 1
At the beginning of the poem, MacCaig describes the first moment he encountered the shark. It was a shocking and memorable moment:
“To stub an oar on a rock where none should be”
This is memorable because it is unusual for a rock to appear in the middle of the sea. His surprise is expressed in his word choice “stub” which has connotations of hitting something suddenly and with blunt force, adding to his shock, effectively showing us how unforeseen this event was.
Furthermore, the “rock” is a metaphor for the shark itself. Like a rock, the shark is huge, immobile, grey and extremely solid. This powerfully conveys to the reader the way the shark must have seemed striking and unfamiliar, making the event notable to us too. This all shows how memorable the event was to the poet, as he was shocked and unsettled by the encounter at first.
Analysis Paragraph 2 (Part 1)
As the poem progresses, MacCaig describes another aspect of his meeting with the shark. It stood out and was a valuable yet scary moment, therefore making it memorable:
“But not too often - though enough.”
Although the poet does not wish to erase this experience, he would not willingly have it happen to him again. We know this as the dash is used to indicate that he has two ways of thinking about his encounter, which is effective as it makes us reflect on how this event would have made us feel. The poet also uses a conversational and informal tone, which helps us to understand that is he is no longer deeply upset or unsettled by the experience, even if it was scary at the time.
Analysis Paragraph 2 (Part 2)
He describes the encounter intensively, showing it’s lasting emotional impact:
“On a sea tin-tacked with rain.”
This event has stood out to the poet as he is able to recall small details of the encounter. This is a metaphor - the rain drops looks like tiny drawing pins falling onto the water. He describes the rain falling at tapping on the water through onomatopoeia on the ‘t’ sound. ‘Tin-tacked’ also uses alliteration to help us further visualise the was the rain was falling during this important event. These techniques allow the reader to deeply visualise the event, making us feel as though we were in the boat with the poet too. They help to emphasise how significant and memorable this encounter with the shark was to the poet.
Analysis Paragraph 3
In the next two stanzas, MacCaig explains how this encounter with the shark made him reflect and think about his standing within evolution, making this meeting memorable:
“He shoggled me / Centuries back”
This event has shaken the poet and forced him to reflect. Here, the poet has used a neologism in the word ‘shoggled’. This cross between the Scots word ‘shoogly’ (unstable/precarious) and ‘wobbly’, creates an informal tone. It literally describes the way in which the shark bumped into the poet’s oar and shook the boat, and also metaphorically describes how the shark changed the poet’s preconceived notions about himself and evolution, which provokes the reader to reconsider these same ideas, which contributes to the poem’s powerful impact. The poet has had to invent a word to describe this experience as it was so unique and memorable. Enjambment is also used in these lines, which is effective as it creates a sense of drama and makes the reader want to continue.
The word choice of ‘centuries’ is effective as it shows the poet has begun to explore his ideas of evolution. The shark offers a glance at prehistoric times, giving the poet a glimpse of the early evolutionary stage of land creatures from our common ancestors, marine life. All of these techniques help us to understand that the event has become very memorable not only due to the poet’s shock at his encounter with the shark, but also due to the fact that it has forced him to rethink the way he sees evolution and himself within it.
Analysis Paragraph 4 (Part 1)
In the final stanza, MacCaig conveys the fact that his outlook on nature and more specifically man’s connection with nature has changed significantly, making this encounter even more important:
“So who’s the monster?”
The poet’s initial, dismissive response to the shark has been reversed. He had referred to the shark as a ‘roomsized monster with a matchbox brain’ in stanza two, but now he questions who the real monster actually is. The use of a rhetorical question forces us to rethink what we mean when we use the term “monster”. He suggests it is humanity, and not creatures like the shark, who are capable of monstrosity, which leads to us, the readers, to also having this revelation. It is clear this experience has vastly transformed the poet’s outlook on where humans stand within nature and evolution, thus making it extremely memorable.
Analysis Paragraph 4 (Part 2)
He describes the exit of the shark, and the thoughts he is left with:
“Sail after sail, / The tall fin slid away and the the tail”
The poet describes the way the shark glides away from him. “Sail after sail”, referring to the shark’s fin and tail above the water, is an effective metaphor which evokes the idea that these parts of the animal are large and similar in shape to a boat’s sail. The series of long vowels in “sail”, “tall”, “slid away”, and “tail”, as well as the repetition of “sail”, come together to create the image of the creature’s gradual and graceful exit, and how long it took to pass the poet. These techniques make the reader reflect on the way the shark is now presented, emotionally impacting us, much like the way it greatly affected the poet. In stanza one, the shark was a “rock” - solid, heavy, and grey - and a monster - a grotesque, foreign creature. Now he writes about the shark as if it were an elegant yacht. This is directly contrasted by the way in which his view of supposedly civilised humanity has declined: it now seems “decadent” at best and “monstrous” at worst. By the end of the poem, it is clear that the poet no longer sees the shark as a clumsy, unwieldy animal but instead something beautiful and worthy of respect. Not only has the encounter changed the way he views the shark, it has changed the way he thinks about humans’ morality, and their relationship with other creatures. It is clear that, upon this encounter, his connection has strengthened - a revelation which makes this event hugely memorable.
Conclusion
In conclusion, ‘Basking Shark’ by Norman MacCaig is a poem which describes a memorable event, which will stay with him due both to its thrill and the things he took away from it. Through techniques like imagery, word choice, and alliteration, MacCaig explores man’s relationship with nature and his place with in evolution. Meeting the shark made him realise that humans and animals are really not so different, and although humans may think of themselves as a superior species, we have the capability to cause the most damage to each other and our planet. I think that this is an evocative and moving poem, which provides an invaluable lesson for us all, especially in a world that is becoming increasingly impacted by climate change and pollution: something that will not only affect animals and nature, but ultimately us too.
