Cetacean

Peter Reading
Out of Fisherman’s Wharf, San Fransisco, Sunday, early,
our vessel, bow to stern, some sixty-three feet,
to observe Blue Whales – and we did, off the Farallones.

They were swimming slowly, and rose at a shallow angle

(they were grey as slate with white mottling, dorsals tiny and stubby,
with broad flat heads at least one quarter their overall body lengths).

They blew as soon as their heads began to break the surface.

The blows were as straight and slim as upright columns
rising to thirty feet in vertical props.

Then their heads disappeared underwater, and the lengthy, rolling

expanse of their backs hove into our view – about twenty feet longer
than the vessel herself.

And then the diminutive dorsals

showed briefly, after the blows had dispersed and the heads had
gone under.

Then they arched their backs, then arched their tail stocks ready
for diving.

Then the flukes were visible just before the creatures vanished,
slipping into the deep again, at a shallow angle.

Para 1: Vivid descriptions of the whales

Para 2: irregular structure

Para 3: changing tone

Quote/device Significance

Semantic field of scientific diction Mathematical, precise, technical jargon → highlights that poetic and
(including the title) scientific ways of observing the world aren’t mutually exclusive
● “Cetacean”
● “Sixty-three feet” ● Have we become too scientific and clinical in our study of nature,
● “Thirty feet” neglecting its poetic beauty?
● “Dispersed”

Structure (stanza-by-stanza) First two stanzas are regular, becoming more irregular in the third and fourth
stanza, before splitting into shorter, irregular lines
 ● Portrays the effect the whales had on the speaker: making the neat
stanzas spiral into short jotting
● Suggests the quickness of the whales’ appearance, as if the writer
was enraptured by them and would only write quick descriptions,
his attention straying from the poem.

Sibilance (“vessel… stern… some sixty- Brings to mind the smooth, languid, graceful movements of the whales
three feet… swimming slowly… shallow… ● Hushed reverential tone in the presence of Nature’s beauty
straight and slim)

“Grey as slate… slim as upright columns” Mixes poetic metaphors with architectural beauty → emphasises that poetic
and scientific ways of observing the world aren’t mutually exclusive

“Grey as slate” Uses architectural language to draw parallels between the whale and great
towering buildings, suggesting the strength of the whale

“White mottling, dorsals tiny and Visual imagery → colours, patterns, shapes, sizes paints a clearer picture of
stubby” the whale’s beauty
● Nautical and architectural vocabulary

“Blew as soon as their heads began to Plosive /b/ creates the effect of shooting sea spray, of pressure released,
break the surface” illustrating a vivid image of the whale’s magnificence
● An impressive, spectacular display

“Straight and slim as upright columns” Sibilance mimics the exhalation of seawater
● Columns support ceilings, the same way the sheer height of the
blow seems to support the sky

Repetition of “then” Neglects regular continuous sentences with repeated use of adverb of time:

● What comes next in sequential order → scientific accuracy

● Breathlessness of speaker as he beholds the sight of the
breathtaking whales
● Conveys a sense of childlike excitement
● Doesn’t bother with extensive descriptions

“Lengthy, rolling expanse” Diction emphasises how massive these mammals are
● Enjambment of choppy phrases within long lines

Staggered caesura of white space: Spatial form emphasises the comparison between the whales’ bodies and
“longer // than the vessel herself.” their boat

● Juxtaposition of long followed by short lines mimics the way the

whale exceeds the boat length

Staggered caesura of white space: “than Marks the volta when the whales re-enter the water then swim away
the vessel herself. // And then” ● This change as the whales go away is presented by the contrasting
“diminutive” and lexical field of “vanishing”: “dispersed” and “gone
under”

“Diminutive dorsals” Alliteration calls attention to the incongruity of small fins on such a large
 animal, makes the reader appreciate complexities of whale

“Arched their backs… arched their tail Repetition of “arched”:

stocks” ● Calls to mind a graceful entrance into the water, highlighting the
contradiction that a huge animal can be so gentle and elegant

“Tail stocks” “ready for diving” “flukes” Reveals the speaker’s intimate knowledge of whales

“Slipping into the deep again, at a
shallow angle”
The final image is the whales’ distinctive forked tail stocks disappearing with
a flourish beneath the ocean’s surface.
Paradoxical statement: emphasises the shallow understanding man can have
of this majestic creature
● Throughout the poem, the speaker never sees the whale in its
entirety
● Snapshots/fragmented descriptions reflect the teasing playfulness
of the whales → humans are left to their own imagination

● These last two stanzas are arranged in couplets (two lines). This
reflects the brief encounter the speaker has with the whales, and
how the memory and excitement of the moment is fleeting

How does ‘Cetacean’ draw attention to the beauty and majesty of the blue whales central to the poem?

Paragraph 1: description of whale

Paragraph 2: seeing the beauty behind science
● First 2 stanzas: a scientific bent to them.
○ Relatively orderly lines and detailed note-taking “our vessel, bow to stern, some sixty-three feet”
makes it seem very scientific and specific, a very methodical approach
● After that, lines start unraveling and breaking up into short and choppy lines, enjambment occurs. Gets
“messy”.
○ Symbolises how his scientific order to the endeavour is slowly falling apart, giving way to
appreciation for the whale’s majestic beauty uncovered by the prosaicness of scientific approach
○ Almost like the author is falling over themselves to write down everything they can see,
highlights how the author is seeing the beauty behind the science they are learning about
■ Makes the reader think that they should focus more on the beauty behind learning and
in nature
● ‘Then they arched their backs, then arched their tail’
○ The anaphora of 'then' help pick up the pace of the poem, as if the speaker is getting more
excited and amused by the movement of whales.
● Structure: Last two lines
○ These last two stanzas are arranged in couplets (two lines). This reflects the brief encounter the
speaker has with the whales, and how the memory and excitement of the moment is fleeting
Paragraph 3: Nature’s effect on human routine
● First part of the poem is very prosaic
○ “(they were grey as slate… overall body lengths)” brackets make the stanza seem very business-
like, factual, literal, prose-like.
○ Highlights business-like, no-nonsense attitude of author at first
● Second part of the poem is more appreciative of nature
○ “Blows were as straight and slim as upright columns”.
■ Nautical and architectural vocabulary - scientific language