Encounter with the Basking Shark - Poem Analysis and Overview
Poet Norman MacCaig's encounter with a basking shark prompts reflections on evolution, humanity's place in nature, and our impact on the world. The poem's structure, divided into five stanzas with a consistent rhyme scheme, guides readers through MacCaig's evolving thoughts about the shark and himself. Through vivid imagery and thought-provoking verses, the poem challenges readers to reconsider their relationship with the natural world and their assumptions of superiority.
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BASKING SHARK By Norman MacCaig
BASKING SHARKS IN THE UK Every year, holidaymakers flock to the coastline in the hope of seeing these enigmatic sharks for themselves. Reaching lengths of up to 12m, Basking Sharks are the largest fish in British waters and the second largest in the world after the Whale Shark. One of only three plankton-feeding shark species, these gentle giants re- appear in our coastal waters each spring and summer.
BASKING SHARK Poem s main idea - tells of the poet's unexpected encounter with a shark; the meeting causes MacCaig to think about the process of evolution and his position in that process. This poem teaches us to think about our relationship with nature in a new way. It may also cause us to question what we are doing to our world and each other. Are we really as intelligent and civilised as we like to think? Structure of the poem split up into five stanzas, each consisting of three lines. Rhyming scheme of a a a throughout.
BASKING SHARK - AN OVERVIEW OF THE STANZAS Stanza One MacCaig describes the chance meeting with the shark and makes it clear it has happened before. Stanza Two the meetings have had an effect on him and he thinks back to one particular meeting. Stanza Three he begins to question his position in the evolutionary process. Stanza Four explains how indistinct humans were from other species at the beginning of the evolutionary process.
BASKING SHARK - AN OVERVIEW OF THE VERSES Stanza Five his opinion of the shark changes and the poet reveals that he is not so sure of his own superiority over the rest of nature.
Provides a dramatic opening to the poem. A clumsy word, again reminding us of the bulk of the shark. ANNOTATING THE POEM STANZA 1 To stub an oar on a rock where none should be, To have it rise with a slounge out of the sea Is a thing that happened once (too often) to me. Onomatopoeia - it suggests the noise of the waves as the shark leaves the water. Suggests that the boat's oar has hit on something solid, something that refuses to give even a little. Infinitive of the verb("To stub", "To have" ) - unusual sentence structure captures our attention immediately. Metaphor - we are led to assume that the shark, like a rock, is bulky, solid, without feeling and, perhaps, without intelligence.
ANNOTATING THE POEM STANZA 1 To stub an oar on a rock where none should be, To have it rise with a slounge out of the sea Is a thing that happened once (too often) to me. Tells us that the shark is in charge of the meeting, the shark is carrying out the actions whereas the poet has no choice in what is happening to him. He has not relished the encounter at all but the brackets indicate a slightly humourous aside: the poet was scared but is trying to make light of it now. The poet seems to have been frightened by the encounter.
Initially puzzling: it seems to contradict what he has said in Stanza One. The use of the dash he indicates that he is in no rush to meet the shark again. ANNOTATING THE POEM STANZA 2 So important is this meeting to him that he claims "I count as gain" the experience . But not too often - though enough. I count as gain That once I met, on a sea tin-tacked with rain, That roomsized monster with a matchbox brain. The element of shock has gone and it now sounds almost as if the meeting has be prearranged between equals.
Places the shark very low down in the evolutionary scale; it is reminiscent of dinosaurs which existed millions of years ago. For all his size, the shark has little intelligence. The poet believes he is superior in the evolutionary scale. ANNOTATING THE POEM STANZA 2 But not too often - though enough. I count as gain That once I met, on a sea tin-tacked with rain, That roomsized monster with a matchbox brain. Places the shark very low down in the evolutionary scale; it is reminiscent of dinosaurs which existed millions of years ago. Water isn't solid but we can see the surface of the water as it is pierced by the raindrops like tacks in a wall. The alliteration of "tin-tacked" also reminds us of the noise the raindrops will be making. Emphasises the sheer size and bulk of the shark.
The shark's movements have caused the water to move violently, shifting the poet and his boat from their original position. Also questions his position in the evolutionary process Suggests the poet's discomfort at being forced to think that he might be nearer the shark on the ladder of evolution than he likes to acknowledge. ANNOTATING THE POEM STANZA 3 He displaced more than water. He shoggled me Centuries back - this decadent townee Shook on a wrong branch of his family tree. Sounds clumsy, as if the poet is being moved around fairly violently in an ungainly movement over which he has no control. Enjambment of the lines draws our attention to the word "Centuries", emphasising how long it took humans to evolve but the poet is travelling quickly back in his mind.
Discovering our ancestors, the people we have been related to down the years. Here, MacCaig is reminding us that the shark too, is part of our "family tree", that we are related to all of nature in the process of evolution. ANNOTATING THE POEM STANZA 3 Perhaps a branch that the poet doesn't want to admit exists. He displaced more than water. He shoggled me Centuries back - this decadent townee Shook on a wrong branch of his family tree. Someone who lives in the town but the word also suggests that such people choose to live in the town; they chose to live away from nature (their "roots"?) because they prefer it that way. Suggests someone who has no worthwhile purpose to their life, but lives only for luxury and enjoyment.
Swirling has stopped, we can see the spring of water more clearly from the dust having settled. Suddenly, he sees his position in evolution much more clearly. Onomatopoeia - suggests the noise of moving water. It also describes the swirling movement of water and dirt. ANNOTATING THE POEM STANZA 4 Swish up the dirt and, when it settles, a spring Is all the clearer. I saw me, in one fling, Emerging from the slime of everything. With one fling the shark makes him understand that his origins are shared with the shark, as well as all other living creatures. Suggests the idea of growing, of coming from darkness to light. Like the shark, the poet has emerged from "the slime of everything"
ANNOTATING THE POEM STANZA 4 Swish up the dirt and, when it settles, a spring Is all the clearer. I saw me, in one fling, Emerging from the slime of everything. Shows how indistinct humans were from other species at the beginning of the evolutionary process. Emphasises the basicness of our beginnings.
At the start of the poem, the poet is almost insulting the shark, dismissing it as a brainless monster. However, now he is not so sure of himself, not so confident that he is the superior being. Now he questions himself. Is he a monster, an intelligent being who has failed to use that intelligence usefully? Stanza begins with a question. ANNOTATING THE POEM STANZA 5 So who's the monster? The thought made me grow pale For twenty seconds while, sail after sail, The tall fin slid away and then the tail. Just as the poet has seen himself in a new light, he has also had to think about the shark in a new way. The poet is much more humble now, not so sure of his own superiority over the rest of nature. Failure to use his intelligence is further highlighted when we realise that the poet only thinks about the question he has asked for twenty seconds. The clumsy, bulky creature of the first stanza has been replaced by an elegant, graceful shark, which the poet compares to a ship sailing away.
