A Considerable Speck

 

 

The poem ‘A Considerable Speck’ highlights the poet’s ability to give importance to minute details / things. Here, he notices a tiny speck of dust which turns out to be an insect trying to save its life, on sensing danger from the narrator’s pen. Finally the mite surrenders to the will of the narrator to kill it or allow it to live. The poet finds it harmless and leaves the mite to use its intelligence. He is surprised to see that the tiny creature is blessed with the ability to think and so, he allows the mite to rest on that sheet of paper till it so desires.

Theme of the Poem

 The poet wants to highlight the importance of having one’s own mind. During his times, human beings merely accepted things irrespective of their mental calibre and he satirizes such attitude. Even a tiny mite displays his mind when he runs around, pauses and flies, trying to save himself. The narrator appreciates the tiny creature for displaying its mind.

A Considerable Speck Summary

 Once the narrator was writing on a white sheet of paper when a tiny dust particle flew over the sheet. Initially, he considered that it had blown off due to his breath but on closer look, he realized that the particle was running here and there and that it was a tiny insect. The insect could think and was trying to save itself. It ran and at times stopped due to the fear of the narrator’s pen. The it reached the area where the narrator had written and the ink was still wet. The insect smelt or drank the ink. It disliked it because it turned and tried to fly away. 

The tiny being tried various ways to save itself, its confidence reduced when it realized that it could not save itself. The creature was too small to have feet but it did have a pair with which it ran wildly to save itself. Finally, it bowed to the narrator’s will and surrendered itself in the middle of the sheet.

The narrator was not an animal lover, the type of people who fought for animal rights and showed that they had a lot of love for these beings. He simply felt that the tiny insect was harmless. So, he did not fiddle with it. He let it be there and waited for the insect to go to sleep.

The narrator has the ability to think and he recognizes when he sees the display of intelligence by anyone. This insect’s display of intelligence to save itself is appreciated by the poet.

Title Analysis of the Poem A Considerable Speck

The title of the poem ‘A Considerable Speck’ is an interesting one because the poet employe the device of oxymoron in it. When a speck, a tiny particle of dust is considerable, it is given importance by the poet Robert Frost. He is known for bestowing importance on the small things in life and in this poem also, we can see that.
 Narrative Style of Poem A Considerable Speck

The poem is descriptive, interspersed with philosophical observations. On the surface, it is quite simple. It is, however, thematically complex. It is disgressive in its development. As the poet describes the movement of the mite, he thinks and interpretations. One thing is notable that his descriptions are detailed, interesting and amusing. The poem concludes abruptly with an unexpected idea: that of liveliness in a text brought about by the use of wit, and intelligence of the human mind.

The use of satire is vivid when the poet remarks : 

             I have none of the tenderer-than-thou
          Collectivistic regimenting love
            With which modern world is being swept.

The use of oxymoron is vivid in the title itself: ‘considerable’ and ‘speck’ – two opposite words in meaning. We wonder how a speck can be significant. Its relevance is understood as the poem advances.
The poet has used irregular rhyme. The simple rhythm helps convey the sincerity of expression. The use of simple words is deliberate. The visual image of the movements of the mite is cleverly built up by detailed observations and short descriptions.
Overall, the poem is interesting in the treatment of its theme and style.
A Considerable Speck Poem Explanation

Poem:
A speck that would have been beneath my sight
On any but a paper sheet so white
Set off across what I had written there.
And I had idly poised my pen in air
To stop it with a period of ink
When something strange about it made me think,
This was no dust speck by my breathing blown,
But unmistakably a living mite
With inclinations it could call its own.

Word meanings:
Speck: a very small spot / a small piece of dirt
Set off: ran
Idly: without any purpose, lazily
Poised: held steady
Unmistakably: undoubtedly
Mite: a very small insect
Inclinations: feelings

Explanation:
There was a tiny piece of dirt on the white sheet of paper on which the narrator was writing. He would not have noticed it had it not been on the clean white sheet. The particle flew off and the narrator thought that his breath had blown it off but later, when he saw that the particle was running here and there, he realized that it was a small insect and not a particle of dust. The insect could think and so, it was running around to save itself.

Poem:
It paused as with suspicion of my pen,
And then came racing wildly on again
To where my manuscript was not yet dry;
Then paused again and either drank or smelt-
With loathing, for again it turned to fly.
Plainly with an intelligence I dealt.

Word meanings:
Racing: running
Manuscript: piece of written text
Paused: stopped
Loathing: strong dislike or hatred
Plainly: clearly

Explanation:
The insect stopped running because it was scared that the narrator would hit it with his pen. Then all of a sudden it started running towards the area of the paper where the narrator had written something and the ink was not yet dry. The insect stopped and perhaps it smelt or drank the wet ink. It must have disliked it for it turned and flew. The narrator used his intelligence to deal with the tiny insect.

Poem:
It seemed too tiny to have room for feet,
Yet must have had a set of them complete
To express how much it didn’t want to die.
It ran with terror and with cunning crept.
It faltered: I could see it hesitate;
Then in the middle of the open sheet
Cower down in desperation to accept
Whatever I accorded it of fate.

Word meanings:
Room: here, space
A set of them: here, a set of feet
Terror: fright
Cunning: cleverness
Faltered: walked with less confidence
Hesitate: uncertain / reluctant
Cower down: hand down and move backward in fear
Desperation: a state of hopelessness which leads to extreme behaviour
Accorded: granted

Explanation:
The insect was too small that it seemed that there was no space for feet in its body but still it had a pair of feet with which it was running. It ran doe to fear and was clever to use different tactics to save itself. The narrator could make out that the insect was afraid because it lacked confidence and at times, it ran with a reluctance. They insect came to the centre of the paper and just remained there as if it has surrendered to the narrator.

Poem:
I have none of the tenderer-than-thou
Collectivistic regimenting love
With which the modern world is being swept.
But this poor microscopic item now!
Since it was nothing I knew evil of
I let it lie there till I hope it slept.

Word meanings:
tenderer-than-thou: more loving / delicate than you are (attitude)
Collectivistic: concerned with some group, class or society, not individuals
Regimenting: something imposed strictly by the state or society
Swept: strongly affected
Microscopic item: almost invisible insect (mite)

Explanation:
The narrator says that he did not have any affection for the insect like a group of people have towards other beings, wherein they try to save and protect them. But, he adds that it was a tiny insect and since it was harmless, the narrator decided to let it be. He did not do anything to it was allowed it to remain there till it wanted to go to sleep.

Poem:
I have a mind myself and recognize
Mind when I meet with it in any guise
No one can know how glad I am to find
On any sheet the least display of mind.

Word meanings:
Mind: Ability to think
Guise: Cover
Display of Mind: show of intelligence

Explanation:
The narrator also has a mind and he can identify another mind maybe which ever form it maybe in. He could even identify that the dust particle was in fact a living mite because its movement indicated that it could think and was deciding its course of action. He was very glad to find the show of such intelligence on the sheet of paper, by the tiny mite.

Figures of Speech

1. Rhyme scheme- irregular rhyme has been used
2. Oxymoron – the adjective used for a noun is contrary to the noun’s qualities.
‘Considerable speck’
3. Imagery – visual imagery has been deployed to show the mite’s movement.
4. Alliteration – repetition of a consonant sound at the start of two or more consecutive words.
Been beneath
Made me
Breathing blown
Something strange
Could call
My manuscript
Too tiny
Have had
Cunning crept
With which
Mind myself
5. Anaphora – two or more consecutive lines start with the same word
I let it lie there till I hope it slept.
I have a mind myself and recognize
6. Inversion – the structure of the sentence is altered
This was no dust speck by my breathing blown,
Plainly with an intelligence I dealt.
Yet must have had a set of them complete
On any sheet the least display of mind
7. Enjambment – when the same sentence continues to the next lines and the lines do not have any punctuation mark in the end. Enjambment has been used at various places in the poem.

Poem A Considerable Speck Text Based Multiple Choice Questions

Read the following questions and select the correct option:

1. When did the poet notice something running across his paper?
(a) when he sneezed
(b) when he was writing
(c) when he was about to put a full stop to his writing finally
(d) when he left writing

2. What did the poet like in the mite?
(a) its colour
(b) its being intelligent
(c) its being fearful
(d) its running in terror

3. How did the mite taste or smell the ink?
(a) with loathing
(b) with relish
(c) hesitatingly
(d) with a shudder

4. What did the poet imagine?
(a) that the mite was a proud creature
(b) that the mite did not want to die
(c) that the mite feared nothing
(d) that the mite was mischievous

5. Why did the mite falter and hesitate?
(a) It was happy.
(b) It was terrified.
(c) It was cunning.
(d) It did not know what to do.

6. What did the mite finally do?
(a) It squatted.
(b) It bent down and moved backwards in fear.
(c) It sat still.
(d) It ran away to the edge of the sheet of paper.

7. What do you imply by ‘collectivistic regimenting love’?
(a) love for the whole society or group
(b) forced love
(c) one-sided love
(d) indiscriminate love for all irrespective of one’s mental calibre.

8. Why did the poet not kill the mite?
(a) because it had a mind of its own.
(b) because it was a lively creature.
(c) because it had no evil intention.
(d) because the poet took pity on it.

9. What is this poem about?
(a) a mite on a white sheet of paper
(b) about the mind, its creativity and imagination
(c) collectivist ideology
(d) individuality

10. The title ‘A Considerable Speck’ is quite ……………. .
(a) amusing
(b) ironical
(c) surprising
(d) foolish

11. What figure of speech is used in the title – ‘A Considerable Speck’?
(a) alliteration
(b) metaphor
(c) oxymoron
(d) simile

12. Identify the poetic device used –
‘Set off across what I had written there.’
(a) metaphor
(b) oxymoron
(c) inversion
(d) imagery

13. Find the odd one out-
(a) too tiny
(b) been beneath
(c) modern world
(d) mind myself

14. Identify the figure of speech used-
‘Since it was nothing I knew evil of
I let it lie there till I hope it slept.’
(a) repetition
(b) anaphora
(c) enjambment
(d) oxymoron

15. Who displayed the mind on the paper?
(a) people
(b) poet
(c) mite
(d) dust

16. The line
‘Since it was nothing I knew evil of’
Means _____________
(a) the poet was evil
(b) the mite was evil
(c) the poet thought that the mite was not evil
(d) the poet thought that the mite was evil

17. Choose the suitable meaning of ‘guise’ as used in the poem
(a) form
(b) false appearance
(c) to hide real self
(d) all of these

18. Why is the mite called ‘poor’?
(a) it has no money
(b) its life is in danger
(c) it has no food
(d) it is homeless

19. What does ‘considerable’ mean in the poem?
(a) significant
(b) important
(c) crucial
(d) beneficial

20. Identify the sentence which uses ‘room’ as used in the poem-
(a) We need two rooms with twin beds.
(b) Please shift the boxes to the store room.
(c) The house is full, there is no room for more people.
(d) We are looking for an apartment with an attached servant room.

Answers
1. (c) when he was about to put a full stop to his writing finally
2. (b) its being intelligent
3. (a) with loathing
4. (b) that the mite did not want to die
5. (d) It did not know what to do.
6. (b) It bent down and moved backwards in fear.
7. (d) indiscriminate love for all irrespective of one’s mental calibre.
8. (c) because it had no evil intention.
9. (d) individuality
10. (b) ironical
11. (c) oxymoron
12. (c) inversion
13. (c) modern world
14. (c) enjambment
15. (c) mite
16. (c) the poet thought that the mite was not evil
17. (a) form
18. (b) its life is in danger
19. (a) significant
20. (c) The house is full, there is no room for more people.

 Top

 

Also See: ICSE Class 10 English Language and Literature Syllabus 2024-25

 

ICSE Class 10 English A Considerable Speck Extract Based Questions

PASSAGE-1

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

A speck that would have been beneath my sight
On any but a paper sheet so white
Set off across what I had written there.
And I had idly poised my pen in air
To stop it with a period of ink

(i) What is a speck? What did it turn out to be?
Ans. A speck is a tiny dust particle. It turned out to be a tiny insect.

(ii) What had the poet been doing? What does the last line here tell you in this context?
Ans. He is waiting for the particle to move away from the sheet. He was waiting to put a full stop to his writing.

(iii) What do you mean by ‘Idly poised my pen’?
Ans. sat idle, kept the pen in the air, waiting for the speck to move away.

(iv) What did the poet observe about the mite later in the context?
Ans. He observed that the speck of dust was a tiny mite.

(v) Why did the poet spare the mite?
Ans. He spared the mite because it was harmless.

PASSAGE-2

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:
When something strange about it made me think,
This was no dust speck by my breathing blown,
But unmistakably a living mite
With inclinations it could call its own.

(i) What was ‘something strange’ about the speck?
Ans. It did not fly off in a direction but it ran here and there.

(ii) What was the first thing about the speck that struck the poet’s mind?
Ans. It had its own ability to think.

(iii) The mite had its own ‘inclinations’. Explain in the context.
Ans. The mite could think and smelled danger. It used its intelligence to save itself.

(iv) In what way did the mite reach the inked portion of the sheet of paper?
Ans. It reached the ink, perhaps to smell it or to drink it.

(v) What was it that refrained the poet from killing the mite?
Ans. The mite was very tiny, called microscopic. The poet considered it to be harmless.

 

PASSAGE-3

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

It paused as with suspicion of my pen,
And then came racing wildly on again
To where my manuscript was not yet dry;
Then paused again and either drank or smelt-
With loathing, for again it turned to fly.

(i) When did the poet notice the reality of the speck on his page?
Ans. When he saw that the movement was not continuous, it ran and paused.

(ii) What is the significance of the word ‘suspicion’ in Line 1 here?
Ans. To be in fear that the pen would hit it.

(iii) How did the mite seem to drink or smell the ink?
Ans. The mite reached the inked portion, the ink being wet. It paused there, perhaps it drank or smelled it.

(iv) What is a manuscript? How would it be dry?
Ans. A manuscript is a piece of written material. When the ink with which it was written would dry, it would dry.

(v) What did it do in terror?
Ans. It paused then went racing and then tried to fly.

 

PASSAGE-4

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

Plainly with an intelligence I dealt.
It seemed too tiny to have room for feet,
You must have had a set of them complete
To express how much it didn’t want to die.
It ran with terror and with cunning crept.
It faltered : I could see it hesitate;

(i) What do you mean by ‘an intelligence’ in Line 1? Why does the poet assert this?
Ans. ‘An intelligence’ means the ability to decide what is good and bad. The poet asserts this because he saw that the tiny mite was also intelligent and tried to save itself from death.

(ii) What was it that refuted the poet’s thinking that the mite had ‘no room for feet’?
Ans. The small, microscopic size of the mite.

(iii) ‘It ran with terror and with cunning crept’. Explain.
Ans. It ran here and there and paused in between. This shows it was terrorized and was trying to be clever to save itself.

(iv) What is it that the poet satirizes later in the context? Why?
Ans. He satirizes those people who do not show their intelligence. He disapproves indiscriminate acceptance of all human beings irrespective of their mental calibre.

(v) What does the poet appreciate in others?
Ans. He appreciates individuality.

PASSAGE-5

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

Then in the middle of the open sheet
Cower down in desperation to accept
Whatever I accorded it of fate.
I have none of the tenderer-than-thou
Collectivistic regimenting love
With which the modern world is being swept.
But this poor microscopic item now !
Since it was nothing I knew evil of
I let it lie there till I hope it slept.

(i) What position did the mite take eventually? In what state was it?
Ans. He reached the centre of the sheet, bent down and crawled backward to indicate fear and surrender.

(ii) Explain ‘Collectivistic regimenting love’?
Ans. A collective idea among a group of people which loves all human beings irrespective of their mental calibre.

(iii) Which ideology is implicitly criticised here?
Ans. Collectivistic regimenting love

(iv) What made the poet let the mite ‘lie there till …. it slept’?
Ans. It was a very tiny, harmless thing

(v) Why does the poet choose a ‘Considerable speck’ to express his appreciation of the mind, its imagination and creativity?
Ans. To show that even the tiniest of all beings had intelligence and displayed it on the sheet of paper. This display of mind made it considerable.

PASSAGE-6

Read the extract given below and answer the questions that follow:

I have a mind myself and recognize
Mind when I meet with it in any guise
No one can know how glad I am to find
On any sheet the least display of mind.

(i) What does the poet appreciate and why?
Ans. The display of intelligence by the mite. He is against indiscriminate acceptance of all human beings irrespective of their mental calibre.

(ii) What quality in a writing appeals to the poet?
Ans. Display of intelligence.

(iii) Do you think the idea contained in this last stanza has relevance in the context? What is it?
Ans. Yes. The poet can identify intelligence irrespective of the type of creature which shows it.

(iv) In what way did the poet identify with the mite?
Ans. Both had a mind that could think and they displayed their intelligence.

(v) What does the poet mean by “display of mind”?
Ans. To use one’s ability to think for one’s betterment.