How Does E. J. Pratt Create Tension In 'The Shark'?

E.J. Pratt grew up with the aftermath of the great war, also known as world war one, and his poem, “The Shark” captures the tone and atmosphere once the great war was over. “The Shark” talks about the tension and the sudden relief that everyone felt, although there are many poems about the war there is none that talks about the aftermath, which makes “The Shark” different than any other poems about the great war. Therefore, I believe “The Shark” by E.J. Pratt is a magnificent poem that truly captures the atmosphere after world war one.
Although “The Shark” is about the Great War the plot of the story is about the suspense and tension the presence of the shark had at the harbor. “The Shark” starts off with the acknowledgement that the shark is present in the harbor. Then the narrator gets into how the shark behaves. The sharks’ behavior is described as “Part vulture, part wolf, Part neither- for his blood was cold”. The narrator also describes how the shark looks, from its sheet-iron fin to his double row of white …show more content…
I interpreted that “The Shark” takes place at this time era because when the fin is described Pratt deliberately made sure to mention how it was, “Three-cornered” which I view as a corner for each country, the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviet Union. My second reason is that during the war there was a stand-still for the longest time, which I thought of when I read, “Stirred not a bubble”. Along with the description of the shark fin and no bubbles forming as the shark’s fin broke the surface of the water, the shark seemed to know the harbor, which meant it was the sharks “turf” and knowing that the war took place in Germany, and if you view the shark as the country Germany, the war took place on Germany’s land. So, because of the symbolism you can put together that “The Shark” takes place after the Great