Basking Shark Textual Analysis

Basking Shark is a poem in which Norman MacCaig reflects upon Evolution. He uses his encounter with a shark to meditate upon the entire evolutionary process and his own place in it.

1. With reference to language, show how the opening line effectively reveals the setting of the poem. (2)

2. What happens in the opening stanza? (1)

3. . The speaker has a mixture of feelings towards the shark. By close examination of language of lines 2-6, show what these feelings are, and how they are revealed. (4)

4. Comment on the sound and visual effect of “a sea tin-tacked with rain” (2)

5. Comment on the humour in line 6 (2)

6. With close reference to language, how does MacCaig develop the idea of ‘He displaced more than water’ in the rest of the stanza (stanza 3) and how does this further develop the idea of the evolutionary process (2)

7. What has the shark displaced more than water? (1)

8. ‘Shook on the wrong Branch of the family tree’ (line 7)a. What connection does the poet make between himself and the

shark (2)

9. Explain what is meant by the image:a. ‘Swish up the dirt and, when it settles, a spring

Is all the clearer.’ (2)

10. Comment on the sound and word choice of the final two lines and say how they help to get across the poet’s purpose in the last description of the shark. (4)

11. The encounter with the shark caused the poet to reflect upon some big ideas. Comment on two phrases which suggest the poet reflected upon serious issues. (4)

12. With reference to the poem’s structure (rhyme scheme, no. of stanzas, syllables in a line etc…) and punctuation, explain how these elements added to your overall understanding/enjoyment of the poem.