The Question and Answer section for Jaws is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.
This line sounds poetic in its simplicity and gives the reader a sense of awe of the shark as in moves through the water. The words imply a sense of stealth (silently) and majesty (great fish).
From the screenplay:
A riffly blur, color alternating with black and white. The dizziness stops on a book page showing a black and white rendering of eight species of shark. The banner at the top of the page reads: THE KNOWN AND REPUTED MANEATERS....
I think that this was the tag line for the movie version of the book. It says so much with so little. The line implies that there is something very dangerous in the water that can strike just when we think it is safe to enter the water. It implies...
