Basking shark (poetry)

Question 1

Basking shark stanza one

Answer 1

To stub an oar on a rock where none should be,
To have it rise with a slounge out of the sea
Is a thing that happened once (too often) to me.

Question 2

Basking shark stanza 2

Answer 2

But not too often - though enough. I count as gain
That once I met, on a sea tin-tacked with rain,
That roomsized monster with a matchbox brain.

Question 3

Basking shark stanza 3

Answer 3

He displaced more than water. He shoggled me
Centuries back - this decadent townee
Shook on a wrong branch of his family tree.

Question 4

Basking shark stanza 4

Answer 4

Swish up the dirt and a spring
Is left all the clearer, I saw me in one fling
Emerging from the slime of everything

Question 5

Basking shark themes

Answer 5

His own connection to the basking shark and its evolution.
Humanity and how humans are more monstrous than the basking shark
The contrast of differences between the basking shark and humanity despite their link through evolution.

Question 6

Basking shark structure

Answer 6

Rhyming triplet to mimic the rhythm of the sea, starts with the basking shark being the monster and finishes with humanity being the monster.

Question 7

To stub an oar on a rock where none should be

Answer 7

Word choice: “where none should be,” shows the poets surprise and shock that his oar hit something out in the open sea because nothing should be there.
Metaphor: “a rock” shows the surprise of the poet because it shows he doesn’t know what it is, also imparts the ideas of strength and solidity onto the basking shark.

Question 8

To have it rise with a slounge out of the sea

Answer 8

Neologism: “slounge” a mixture of the words slow and lounge used by the poet to impart the attributes of laziness and reluctance to move onto the basking shark.

Question 9

Is a thing that happened once “too often” to me

Answer 9

Parenthesis and word choice: “(too often)” used to show MacCaigs dislike of the experience because once was enough for him and shows he felt quite afraid of the basking shark originally.

Question 10

But not too often - though enough I count as gain

Answer 10

Parenthesis and word choice “too often - though enough” is used to emphasise that the poet thinks that despite him not enjoying the experience and feeling quite afraid he still believes that it was very important.

Question 11

Basking shark stanza 5

Answer 11

So who’s the monster? The thought made me grow pale.
For twenty seconds while, sail after sail,
The tall fin slid away and then the tail.

Question 12

Basking shark stanza 5

Answer 12

So who’s the monster? The thought made me grow pale
For twenty seconds while, sail after sail,
The tall fin slid away and then the tail.

Question 13

That once I met on a sea tin tacked with rain

Answer 13

Metaphor -: “tin tacked” tin tacks are metal pins which makes us understand the rain is coming down really hard to give the impression that the rain is so heavy if feels like tiny pins are hitting him.

Question 14

That room sized monster with a matchbox brain

Answer 14

Juxtaposition-: “room sized monster,” and “matchbox brain,” the poet uses juxtaposition to as a contrast to make the brain seem smaller and the shark less intelligent, and the size of the shark to seem bigger and more intimidating/scary.

Question 15

He displaced more than water. He shoggled me,

Answer 15

Neologism -: “he shoggled me,” Used as a mixture of the words shook and boggled which means to confuse, in this context the reader can understand that MacCaig is saying that the shark made him rethink and question something.
Caesura -: “he displaced more than water.” The full stop is used to show that the poet is trying to get you to reflect and think about what might have also been displaced. In this case the poet is implying that when he was shaken about his thoughts and ideas towards the basking shark were shaken about and displaced

Question 16

Centuries back the decadent townee

Answer 16

Metaphor-: “centuries back,” this is a metaphor emphasising how far back in time MacCaig has to look to find a time where man no longer sees himself superior to the shark
Word choice-: “decadent townee,” is referring to himself and his upbringing in a town and how it has lead to him disconnecting from nature.

Question 17

Shook on a wrong branch of his family tree

Answer 17

Personification -: “ shook on a wrong branch of his family tree,” personification is used so that the shark does humane actions showing it isn’t inferior to humanity and family tree refers backs to the idea that MacCaig and the shark are linked through evolution.

Question 18

Swish up the dirt and, when it settles a spring

Is all the clearer.

Answer 18

Metaphor-: “swish up the dirt, and, when it settles a spring is all the clearer,” the poet uses the words swish to emphasise stirring something up and the dirt is a metaphor for his thoughts, a spring is all the clearer is talking about after a while he will start to understand something better,
Caesura -: “a spring becomes all the clearer. ” the full stop is used to show that the poet is reflecting on whether he should really be afraid of the basking shark.

Question 19

I saw me in one fling

Answer 19

Word choice -: one fling talking about one brief event to show how he started to realise he is more of a threat to the basking shark than the basking shark is to him.

Question 20

Emerging from the slime of everything

Answer 20

Metaphor-: “emerging from the slime of everything,” the writer uses the words slime and emerging to give make the reader know that MacCaig sees humanity as the monster

Question 21

So who’s the monster? the thought made me go pale

Answer 21

Rhetorical question-: “so who is the monster?” The poet uses the rhetorical question to make the reader think and question whether the basking shark or humanity is the real monster.
Word choice-: “the thought made me go pale,” the use of the word pale is usually associated with being afraid which leads me to believe the poet is afraid that humanity has become more monstrous than basking sharks.

Question 22

For twenty seconds after while sail after sail

Answer 22

Repetition -: “sail after sail” the repetition used by the poet is to show how long the twenty seconds felt implying that the writer was still deep in thought about the experience.

Question 23

Tall fin slid away and then the tail

Answer 23

Synecdoche -: used to refer to the shark as its fin and its tail to emphasise how big it is by saying that it took a long time for both the fin and the tail to go out of sight.