Basking Shark Quotes Flashcards
“To stub an oar on a rock where none should be”
The word choice of “stub” has connotations of a sudden pain or shock. This adds to the poet’s idea that it is surprising to encounter the shark in the water.
“Is a thing that happened once (too often) to me”
MacCaig has used parenthesis here. This is effective because it adds an aside to tell us that once was enough, suggesting that this was a frightening experience that he would not like to repeat.
“But not too often - though enough. I count as gain …”
MacCaig has used repetition of “too often” here, though this time he begins with the word “But”. This is effective because it suggests a contradiction, highlighting his mixed feelings about his experience: he is also glad that it happened.
“That roomsized monster with a matchbox brain”
MacCaig has used contrast between the shark’s large size and its small brain here. This is effective because it creates humour; it makes the shark, which initially frightened him, seem rather ridiculous and stupid. He also calls it a ‘monster’, which establishes the poet’s negative opinion of the shark.
“He displaced more than water”
The word choice of “displaced” has connotations of shake up, unsettle or move. This adds to the writer’s idea that the shark has literally moved and upset the water, but he has also disturbed the poet, making him think about our own origins as human beings.
“Shook on a wrong branch of a family tree”
MacCaig uses a metaphor here to compare evolution to a tree. Just as a tree has many different branches coming off a trunk, so too species have evolved in many ways but from the same source. The writer is suggesting that humans and the shark come from the same origins. However, he suggests that we have evolved in the “wrong” way – something has gone wrong with us in the process.
“Swish up the dirt, and when it settles, a spring / Is all the clearer”
Here, MacCaig compares his experience to stirring up a puddle. Just as a puddle will be cloudy at first, but when stirred the dirt will settle at the bottom and the water will be clear, so too his thoughts have been muddled but are now much clearer. The writer is suggesting that this experience has had a big impact on the way he thinks about life.
“Emerging from the slime of everything”
The word choice of “slime” has connotations of muck and sludge. This adds to the writer’s idea that we all came from the same unglamorous beginning millions of years ago, and that we should not think of ourselves as superior to other lifeforms.
“So, who’s the monster?”
MacCaig uses a rhetorical question here. This is effective because it sums-up the main idea of the poem: MacCaig is now realising that humans may be more monstrous than the sharks due to their actions. This suggests his opinion of the shark has changed.
“For twenty seconds while, sail after sail, / The tall fin slid away and then the tail”
MacCaig has used a long sentence here, with parenthesis to slow it down even more. This is effective because it mimics the length of time the shark takes to swim away and leaves a final impression of the shark’s size. The word “slid” also suggests the shark seems graceful now, which emphasises how much MacCaig’s opinion has changed over the course of this short experience.
