What 'shoal' and 'darts' mean here?
It's from the book Possession by A.S. Byatt, p70; here is the context>
“And from all these things the soft light proceeded, like the glimmering of pearls in the depth of water, like the phosphorescent light that moves of itself on the night surface of southern seas, or shines round the heaving shoals, milky-white over their silver darts, in our own dark Channel.”
Answer
“And from all these things the soft light proceeded, like the glimmering of pearls in the depth of water, like the phosphorescent light that moves of itself on the night surface of southern seas, or shines round the heaving shoals, milky-white over their silver darts, in our own dark Channel.”
shoals means: all the fish swimming together
They dart around = move swiftly, darts are like spears.
So, explained in very simple terms that destroys the poetry of A. S. Byatt:
the light shines over shoals of fish that move up and down and that look milky-white. The fish are under the water but they are darting around. The fish look like silver spear tips or darts under the surface of the water.
Apologies to the author if she ever sees this. :)
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