English Set Text

Question 1

analyse the image “to stub an oar on a rock where none should be”

Answer 1

the basking shark is being compared with a rock, just as a rock is solid, large and immovable, so too is the shark.

Question 2

analyse the image “on a sea tin-tacked with rain”

Answer 2

this alliterative metaphor describes the effect of the weather on the sea as hard droplets of rain pierce and pattern the smooth surface.

Question 3

analyse the images “roomsized monster” and “matchbox brain”

Answer 3

the first metaphor refers to the sharks sheer bulk, the contrasting metaphor refers to its minimal inelegance despite its frightening size.

Question 4

analyse the image “shook on the wrong branch of his family tree”

Answer 4

the speaker is both literally and metaphorically shaken by his encounter. he is reminded that the very distant past the shark would appear on our family tree as any other ancestor.

Question 5

analyse the image “swish up the dirt and , when it settles, a spring is all the clearer”

Answer 5

muddy water in a stream would make the water dark and impossible to see through but it would settle and clear again, just as MacCaig’s thoughts are confused but become clearer on reflection.

Question 6

analyse the image “sail after sail”

Answer 6

this metaphor compares the shark’s fin and tail to sails on a yacht. this reinforces the length of the shark and also helps us to picture its shape.

Question 7

analyse the image “sat, slumped like a half-filled sack”

Answer 7

the comparison of the dwarf with a sack implies that he is not sitting upright - it suggests a lack of care and neglect and that he is less than human.

Question 8

analyse the image “clucking contentedly”

Answer 8

this suggests the tourists are self-satisfied and happily ignoring the neglect and poverty portrayed by the dwarf.

Question 9

analyse the image “ruined temple”

Answer 9

they are both physically broken and it also shows that even though broken they both still stand and remain alive.

Question 10

analyse the image “she was buckets”

Answer 10

suggests her capacity to carry a heavy burden.

Question 11

analyse the image “winds pouring wetly”

Answer 11

emphasises the extreme weather conditions as the strong wind carried the rain which lashes against the house.

Question 12

analyse the image “she was brown eggs”

Answer 12

suggests she kept chickens and emphasises her self sufficient lifestyle and her close bonds to nature.

Question 13

analyse the word choice “twisted”

Answer 13

suggests deformed and has connotations of pain.

Question 14

analyse the word choice “outside”

Answer 14

suggests exclusion.

Question 15

analyse the word choice “run”

Answer 15

ironic as although it is referring to the sawdust it is something his legs cannot do.

Question 16

analyse the word choice “had the advantage of not being dead yet”

Answer 16

use of irony to show the only thing going for the beggar is that he is alive.

Question 17

analyse the word choice “how clever it was of giotto”

Answer 17

the priests attitude is condescending.

Question 18

analyse the word choice “clucking”

Answer 18

suggests the tourists are like hens - birds with tiny brains.

Question 19

analyse the word choice “fluttering”

Answer 19

suggests confusion of the tourists who mindlessly follow the priest like birds.

Question 20

analyse the word choice “eyes wept puss”

Answer 20

highlights the dwarfs discomfort also has connotations of crying and distress.

Question 21

analyse the word choice “grazie”

Answer 21

emphasises the humility of the dwarf, the dwarf’s inner beauty contrasts with his exterior.

Question 22

analyse the word choice “slounge”

Answer 22

slow, lazy, ponderous movement.

Question 23

analyse the word choice “he displaced more than water”

Answer 23

suggests that the narrator is both physically and metaphorically affected by the shark.

Question 24

analyse the word choice “decadent townee”

Answer 24

has negative connotations and suggests he is a pleasure loving urban dweller, no longer in touch with the natural world.

Question 25

analyse the word choice “fling”

Answer 25

makes him understand they share the same origins but hints at mans movement in a different direction.

Question 26

analyse the word choice “emerging”

Answer 26

suggests a movement of epiphany.

Question 27

analyse the word choice “loud” and “fast”

Answer 27

suggests she is an animated lively character”

Question 28

analyse the word choice “stained with peat”

Answer 28

reinforces her lack of vanity and highlights her connection with the land.

Question 29

analyse the list “whose eyes/wept puss, whose back was higher/than his head, whose lopsided mouth…”

Answer 29

repetition of whose emphasises the tragedy of the dwarfs appearance and the list describes the variety of ways in which the man is afflicted.

Question 30

analyse the parenthesis “(too often)”

Answer 30

the parenthetical aside the quote adds humour, but also makes us aware of the narrator fear.

Question 31

analyse the short opening sentence “he displaced more than water”

Answer 31

introduces the beginning of the poets reflection. the boat had been moved and so has he on an emotional level.

Question 32

analyse the rhetorical question “so who’s the monster?”

Answer 32

continues the reflective nature of the poem and shows that the poet is no longer confident that mans superior over the shark.

Question 33

analyse the enjambment “pale/for 20 seconds”

Answer 33

makes the first line glide into the second and suggests the passage of time as the huge shark glides away.

Question 34

analyse the repetition “sail after sail”

Answer 34

emphasises the shark’s fin and its tail projecting above the water as it slowly and gracefully swims past.

Question 35

analyse the sentence structure “unanswered”

Answer 35

final word on line of its own emphasises his anger and highlights his sense of loss - both personality and culturally.

Question 36

analyse the repetition “getting angry, getting angry”

Answer 36

conveys depth of emotion and suggests the poet wants us to value and cherish the island culture and way of life and not accept its loss.