Quotes - Basking shark Flashcards
“on a rock”
metaphor comparing the shark to a rock bulky/solid without feeling or intelligence
“slounge out”
onomatopoeia - noise of the waves, clumsy movement. new word: slouch and lounge out together
“once (too often)”
Poet is scared, but he tries to inject humour to make light of the situation. parenthesis tells us its not something he wants to happen again.
“I count as gain”
WC of gain emphasises experience is worthwhile - explains reasons why in the rest of the poem
“met”
word choice suggests mutual exchange
“room sized monster”
large size monster - low down on the evolutionary scale
“matchbox brain”
basic animal, large animal with a small brain - like a dinosaur, opposite to us
“he displaced more than water”
WC of “displaced” suggests being moved. the shark is making him rethink his life and position in society
“shoggled”
shark his moving him and is in control again
“centuries back”
enjambment - draws attention to the words. shows he is thinking back to prehistoric times
“family tree”
he is reminded that the shark too is part of our own family tree and is linked to us in much the same as any other ancestor
“dirt”
murky thought of the new humas evolved into what they are now. the idea that of dirt goes back to our origins
“slime of everything”
shows the poet is connected to every animal
“so who’s the monster?”
use of question to show he is not to confident who the real monster is. this magnificent creature is monstrous simply because if its size, but the metaphorical sense it is clear the speaker now considers humanity to be the true monster
“for twenty seconds”
tells us he doesn’t think about it for long. emphasises how man is the true monster
