He seemed to know the harbour,
So leisurely he swam;
His fin,
Like a piece of sheet-iron,
Three-cornered,
And with knife-edge,
Stirred not a bubble
As it moved
With its base-line on the water.
His body was tubular
And tapered
And smoke-blue,
And as he passed the wharf
He turned,
And snapped at a flat-fish
That was dead and floating.
And I saw the flash of a white throat,
And a double row of white teeth,
And eyes of metallic grey,
Hard and narrow and slit.
Then out of the harbour,
With that three-cornered fin
Shearing without a bubble the water
Lithely,
Leisurely,
He swam—
That strange fish,
Tubular, tapered, smoke-blue,
Part vulture, part wolf,
Part neither—for his blood was cold.
Leave a guest comment (subject to review)
Comments
-
help
am stuck i need help in analysing the poem becouse i have contradicting results.is the shark an animal or its asymbol of some thing fearce
-
help
From guest irene (contact)
pliz analyse the meaning of this poem ,becouse i think its about ashark and on the other hand i feel its about acountry feared by others -
i need help
From guest irene (contact)
i have apresentation tomorrow please explain your view meaning of this poem.what poetic techniques are used,and the writers motive please help -
-
-
To guest Yaha anzar,
If you take a look through the comments on this poem you will find help from other readers (including me). It is debatable wether there are any metaphors here, it could all be absolutely straightforward observation.
-
-
-
-
-
=]
From guest Em C (contact)
Pratt is relating the shark to a (killing) machine."metallic grey" "sheet-iron" "knife-edge" "part neither- for his blood was cold" It's quite enjoyable to read and has many interpretations, but I think this one makes a lot of sense if you think about it. -
Help!!
From guest Tommy (contact)
Does anyone know anything about the shape of the poem or why the author uses these specific line lengths? -
personally
From guest Matt (contact)
i personally believe that this poem is representing a bully or criminal, it goes to pick on its weak prey (in this case a fish) and swims away leisurely, feeling it has done a great job. -
Ohhh crap
From guest Dylan (contact)
Hey, i gotta do a presentation on this poem. Is this about how savagry can be hidden behind what the eye sees as beautiful, or symbol of man, and how they look calm one time, but have the intention of murder on the inside. -
-
Sounds like you have a wonderful teacher that wants you to stretch your mind. Suggest you reread the poem at least five to six times, highlight the words that have double meaning, look some of those terms up in a dictionary, and then (this is where the work comes in), start making connections to other poems and stories that you are well versed with. How about the image of the shark in the classic Jaws movie. What's the connection with fear and respect? How about the shape of the fin--in and of itself it is a marvel of design. So, how is it that it becomes a sysbol of automatic fear?
Have fun doing your assignment.
-
-
-
j turner
It reminds me of another poem. can't rmemeber the author.
A man tells the universe he exists, but the universe replys that this has not obligated the universe in any way. Not the exact words but the sense I hope. The shark is part of that indifferent universe. Cold-blooded, and in no way concerned with man. -
jturner
one of my favorite poems. The last line leaves my blood cold, and raises goosebumps on my skin. -
help!
From guest rebecca (contact)
hi! i have to anaylise this poem and i wonder if you could help me with some ideas. i dont really get how to anaylise this poem! needing help!!! -
-
This is a very open poem.
It is about --A Shark!
It describes a shark swimming around a harbour, probably a small fishing harbour not a large commercial one. Feeding on a dead fish (comparison with a vulture feeding on carrion) and then going away in its own leisurely way.
-
Adding your comment:
