Basking Shark

• To stub … to have

  Repetition emphasises tension and suspense. Word choice of stub the poet is shocked at the sudden and unexpected contact.
• Where none should be

  Jarring and unexpected tone. He was expecting to be alone and suddenly isn’t.
• Rise


  Word choice shows his surprise/ disbelief that the rock moved. Builds more suspense.
• Slounge


  Mixture of slouch and lounge. long vowels suggest sheet size of the shark as well as its slow and lazy movements. The poet is an intruder in its territory which builds suspense.
• Too often

  Parenthesis emphasises his desire to not repeat the experience as he is shaken by it.
• But not too often

  Repetition contradicts what he just said and shows he is dwelling on the experience.
• Gain


  Word choice as he recognised the experience had value.
• Sea tin tacked with rain

  Onomatopia shows metallic sound of rain hitting the boat. Image of rain leaving marks on the water shows harsh weather. hard “t” sound shows how heavy the rain was.
• Room sized monster


  Shark is being compared to the size of a room which emphasises its large body size. Word choice of monster suggests something harsh and frightening.
• Matchbox brain


  Short monosyllabic words emphasise how small the brain is. MacCaig has no respect for the shark as he has a time of contempt and we see a contrast between body and mind
• He displaced more than water

  The shark literally swims past the boat and the water moves violently. metaphorically the shark has caused him to reconsider his place in evolution.
• shoggled 


  His way of thinking is being shifted and he is shaken and out of his comfort zone.
• Decadent townee 


  Tone is self deprecating. Shows he spends his life in a superficial urban setting and has forgotten his place in nature and lost a sense of purpose in his life.
• Shook


  word choice shows he is shaken by the experience and shocked at the shark being related to us/ part of our family tree.
• wrong


  word choice suggests humans have made the wrong choices about their place in the world and he is now unsure of his place in nature.
• Swish up the dirt

  repeated idea of the poet feeling out of place and seeking clarity.
• Clearer 


  Word choice shows idea of dirt muddying the water and then clearing again which gives the image of the poet gaining a clearer outlook and perspective.
• In one fling


  Emphasises his sudden epiphany/ realisation fling shows how quickly the change occurred
• Emerging 


  Idea of new clarity and rebirth
• Slime


  Connotes origins of all life and where life starts. Both humans and sharks had the same start in life.
• Everything

  Continued image of linking humanity to all living things
• So who’s the monster?

  Rhetorical question. poet is forced to rethink his place in the world. we have done more damage to nature than the shark. His original idea of the shark being inferior and brainless is now reversed as he considers them equals.
• Pale


  shows shock at his realisation of humanities insignificance.
• Sail after sail

  Shark fin and tail compared to ships sail. Emphasises size and shape of the creature.
• Tall and slid


  Long vowels show graceful and elegant slow movements which emphasises the change in how the poet views the shark and himself.