Basking Shark Flashcards

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1
Q

“To stub an oar on a rock where none should be, to have it rise with a slounge out of the sea”

A
  • the rock resembles the shark.

- enjambment emphasises that the shark is moving slowly and is unthreatening.

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2
Q

“That once I met, on a sea tin-tacked with rain”

A
  • clearly describes the setting.
  • plosives sounds (onomatopoeia and alliteration)
  • personifying the shark.
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3
Q

“That roomsized monster with a matchbox brain”

A
  • emphasises size of shark.
  • contrasting the size of the shark to the size of its brain.
  • suggests the shark is not mentally clever therefore is unthreatening.
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4
Q

“He shoggled me centuries back”

A
  • the shark has physically and metaphorically shook the poet.
  • enjambment emphasises how deeply the shark has made him think.
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5
Q

“This decadent townee shook on a wrong branch of his family tree”

A
  • comparing the evolution of humans to the evolution of sharks.
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6
Q

“Emerging from the slime of everything”

A
  • makes the reader think of the process of the evolution of human life.
  • shows how this experience has given the poet a better understanding of his place in evolution.
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7
Q

“So who’s the monster?”

A
  • rhetorical question.

- makes you think how humans are the real monsters and not sharks.

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