'Basking Shark' (SQA National 5 English): Revision Note

Below is a guide to Norman MacCaig’s poem ‘Basking Shark’ in preparation for the SQA National 5 English exam. It includes:

• Overview: a breakdown of the poem, including its possible meanings and interpretations

• Writer’s methods: an exploration of MacCaig’s techniques and methods

• Understanding the poem: an exploration of the themes and ideas within MacCaig’s poem

• Linking the poems: an understanding of how ‘Basking Shark’ connects to MacCaig’s other prescribed poems for the Scottish text section

Overview

In order to answer questions on any poem it is vital that you understand what it is about. This section includes:

• An overview of the poem

• A ‘translation’ of the poem, section-by-section

• A commentary of each of these sections, outlining Norman MacCaig’s intention and message

‘Basking Shark’ overview

‘Basking Shark’, written by the poet Norman MacCaig, depicts a memorable encounter between the speaker and a basking shark. In his observation of the vast sea creature, the speaker considers the evolutionary journey of both humans and basking sharks, and having initially described the basking shark as a “monster”, he goes on to question “who’s the monster?”.

‘Basking Shark’ translation 

Line 1

Translation

• The poem begins in media res (opens in a new tab), with the speaker rowing a small boat on the sea when his oar strikes an object in the water that feels like a “rock”

MacCaig’s intention

• The verb “stub” suggests an action that was unexpected, indicating the startling nature of the event from the very beginning

• The oar strikes what the speaker assumes to be a “rock”, something hard, immovable and an enduring feature of the natural world:

  • Characteristics shared by the as yet unknown basking shark

• The phrase “where none should be” serves to underline the surprising, discombobulating effect of the event

Lines 2-4

Translation

• The basking shark slowly shows itself, with the speaker revealing that he has had previous encounters with such creatures

MacCaig’s intention

• Suspense is conveyed, for the speaker knows what ‘it’ is:

  • Apart from the title, the word “basking shark” or “shark” is unused in the poem

• The word choice “rise” suggests an insidious movement, although the personified (opens in a new tab) “slounge” — a combination of slouch and lounge — moderates the sinister undertones of “rise”:

  • This contrast hints at the duality of the basking shark: a creature that could be feared, but also one that is not so different to ourselves

• The parenthetical “too often” in Line 3 clearly suggests that, even if this type of encounter is not a regular event, it occurs frequently enough for the speaker:

  • Although the colloquial (opens in a new tab) “a thing that happened” implies that the speaker is not truly scared

• Line 4 is a repetition (opens in a new tab) of the main ideas previously expressed, emphasising his reluctance to engage with the basking shark, but accepting it is an inevitability of being at sea

Lines 4-6

Translation

• Despite his reservations, the speaker believes this encounter to be a worthwhile experience, and goes on to speak about a singular such encounter

MacCaig’s intention

• The word “gain” suggests something beneficial and worthwhile, with “once” highlighting the singular, special quality of this particular event

• The word “met” furthermore suggests a friendly coming together of equals, as if it were planned

• While “rain” has negative connotations (opens in a new tab), it is described as making a tapping noise on the sea, like rain falling on a tin roof, and thereby romanticising the setting in which the speaker finds the basking shark

• Contrast and imagery (opens in a new tab)are then used to introduce the shark: “roomsized” suggests its enormous scale, while “matchbox brain” implies a tiny intellect

• Finally, the imagery of a “monster” presents the shark as something repulsive, terrifying and not understood by humans

Lines 7-9

Translation

• The speaker moves from observation into reflection: the impression of the basking shark forces him to question his own existence

MacCaig’s intention 

• The word “displaced” is ambiguous:

  • The imagery of moving water is literally caused by the shark, but that same movement triggers an emotional response in the speaker

• Like “slounge”, “shoggled” is an amalgamated word, combining shake and joggle, emphasising the physically and emotionally disorientating effect the experience has on the speaker

• The reflection plunges the speaker “Centuries back”, suggesting an extremely distant past

• The hyphen introduces the speaker as a “decadent townee”, a mocking, self-depracating description portraying himself as a spoilt, urban-dweller, far removed from the natural world

• The speaker continues to reference himself, thinking that maybe he (or more widely humankind) was “shook” — which suggests an evolutionary glitch — on a “wrong branch of his family tree”:

  • The suggestion here is that once (“Centuriues back”), all life was on the same evolutionary trajectory, before different organisms evolved separately on a new “branch”

• Overall, the purpose of Line 9 is twofold:

  • It communicates that all life comes from the same origin, and that maybe humans — for all their apparent successes — are “wrong” in some way

Lines 10-12

Translation

• The speaker deepens his reflection, imagining the world at the very start of evolutionary creation

MacCaig’s intention

• The onomatopoeic (opens in a new tab) “swish” further removes the speaker from the literal present, as the journey into the past continues

• The “dirt” can represent confusion or misunderstanding about evolution, with the speaker suggesting that, metaphorically (opens in a new tab)-speaking, the water must be disturbed in order for clarity and comprehension (“all the clearer”) to emerge:

  • The word “settles” further emphasises this sense of clarity and harmony

• The statement “I saw me” has a revelatory tone, further emphasised by the parenthetical “in one fling”, suggesting the suddenness of the epiphany

• In Line 12, the speaker sees himself as “the slime of everything", harking back to the beginning of life and the birth of evolution

Lines 13-15

Translation

• The speaker returns to the present and questions the identity of humankind

• As the basking shark moves away, the “monster” referred to in derogatory terms in Line 6 becomes a wondrous symbol of awesome nature

MacCaig’s intention

• The poem has been building to the speaker’s rhetorical question (opens in a new tab) in line 13:

  • The word “monster”, used to describe the shark in Line 6, is now presented as a potential label for “humankind”, with the reader asked to consider that notion

• The speaker, in his own considerations, is “pale”, highlighting his shock at understanding the truth

• The shark takes its time to leave — “twenty seconds” — with the timeframe again emphasising its scale, but these seconds are nonetheless incomparable to the vastness of evolutionary time

• The sense of time is underscored in the long vowel sounds (assonance (opens in a new tab)) that follow — “sail”, “tall”, “away” — while the word “slid” now imbues the shark with a sense of elegant beauty

• Presented as a great ship (“sail after sail”) that gradually shrinks into the water, the shark leaves the setting in a majestic, proud manner

Writer’s methods

Although this section is organised into three separate sections — form, structure and language — it is always best to move from what the poet is presenting (the techniques they use; the overall form of the poem; what comes at the beginning, middle and end of a poem) to how and why they have made the choices they have. 

Focusing on the poet’s overarching ideas, rather than individual poetic techniques, will gain you far more marks. Crucially, in the below sections, all analysis is arranged by theme and includes Norman MacCaig’s intentions behind his choices in terms of:

• Form

• Structure

• Language

Form

MacCaig’s poem is a first-person monologue (opens in a new tab) that turns an encounter with a basking shark into a philosophical exploration about the nature of human existence.  

Structure

The regular structure of the poem suggests the order of the natural world, even if humans deem it to be chaotic or scary.

Language

MacCaig notably uses imagery (opens in a new tab) and word choice to create a vivid impression of the basking shark and the setting in which it exists. 

Understanding the poem

For the SQA National 5 English exam, it’s important to show a clear and thoughtful understanding of the poem’s themes and main ideas, as well as how the poet’s techniques and intentions help to convey meaning. This section focuses on two main themes that MacCaig examines in ‘Basking Shark’:

• Natural world

• Identity

Natural world

• In ‘Basking Shark’, MacCaig seeks to explore the relationship between humans and the natural world:

  • Humans typically see themselves as superior, but by placing his speaker in the realm of the basking shark, MacCaig flips the role of human and animal

• After initially deriding the shark as a “monster”, the presence of the shark forces the speaker to reflect on how, in simplistic terms, the starting point for all life was the same

• That sharks and humans evolved in different ways does not make one or the other more advanced

• The speaker is ultimately left with a sense of awe and respect for the shark, partly because their role as a human on Earth has been questioned and humbled

Identity

• ‘Basking Shark’ goes to the core of what we are, or think we are, as humans

• The poem challenges our identity as a species, seeking us to consider our role as part of the natural world, and not simply assume we stand dominant at the head of it

• The use of the phrase “decadent townee” shows the self-awareness of the speaker about the disconnect of human identity from the natural world

• The irony (opens in a new tab) of this is explored in the poem, for while we all stemmed from the same origin, the basking shark has remained a fixture of the natural world, while humans have become complacent and suspicious

Linking the poems

Most students who study MacCaig’s poetry for the SQA National 5 exam use it to answer the Scottish text section. However, you can choose to write your critical essay on MacCaig’s poetry.

If you choose to study MacCaig for the Scottish text section, you’ll need to demonstrate a broader understanding of his poetry in the final question, as required by the SQA. This means referring to ideas, themes, or techniques from at least one of his other poems.

The six prescribed poems by Norman MacCaig are:

• ‘Aunt Julia’

• ‘Hotel Room, 12th Floor’

• ‘Old Highland Woman’

• ‘On Lachie’s croft’

• ‘Landscape and I’

• ‘Basking Shark’

The final question will likely concentrate on an aspect of content, such as theme or characters in the poems, or on a technique, such as use of imagery or contrast.

Below are some useful comparisons between the six prescribed poems.