A Considerable Speck Poem Questions and Answers

A Considerable Speck Poem Questions and Answers & MCQs

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A Considerable Speck Poem Questions and Answers & MCQs

Read the given extracts and answer the following questions:

Question 1.
And I idly poised my pen in air
To stop it with a period of ink

a. Name the poem and the poet.
b. What is ‘it’ referred to in the above extract? What was
the speaker doing?
c. Explain the lines of the above extract.
d. What thoughts did the speaker have which stopped him from doing the action? (spoken about in the above line.
Answers:
a. The name of the poem is “A Considerable Speck” and the poet’s name is Robert Frost.

b. ‘It’is referred to the mite that came and fell on the manuscript of the poet. The speaker is the writer himself who was writing on a white sheet of paper.

c. The speaker says that while he was writing, he saw a speck on the white sheet of paper on which he was writing. He at that moment wished to stop it by a period of ink of his pen. So he poised his pen in the air.

d. Something strange about the speck made him think over and so he didn’t want to stop it. He thought that it was not a “dust speck” that could be blown by his breathing. It was also a living creature like him. It was unmistakably a mite. The speaker thought it to have a certain predisposition or inclination of its own.

Question 2.
With Ioathing, for again it turned to fly
a. What is ‘it’ referred to in the above line?
b. Why did ‘it’ turned to fly?
c. What ‘inclination’ did the speaker say ‘it’ had?
d. How was the speaker able to see ‘it’ on the sheet?
Answers:
a. “It” is referred to the microscopic creature that is the mite which fell on the poet’s manuscript on which he was writing.

b. When the mite went racing wildly on the paper, it came across the writing where the ink was still wet. It paused and either tasted or smelt the ink. So with hatred, it turned to fly.

c. The poet says that the mite had a propensity or inclination of its own. It lived in its own self-engrossed world. So it paused possibly with the thought that the writer or the poet would do something to it.

d. The poet says that ‘it’-the mite would have been invisible because of its minute size, if it would not have fallen on the white sheet. Inspite of its microscopic size, the speck was visible to the poet just because it was a contrast on its background on the white sheet of paper.

Question 3.
Yet must have had a set of them complete.
a. What is ‘them’ referred to in the lines of the above extract?
b. What does the speaker think of ‘them’ in the line just before the above line?
c. What makes the speaker say the above line?
d. How was ‘it’using the ‘set of them’ in the stanza from which the above line is taken?
Answers:
a. “Them” is referred to the feet of the mite in the above extract.

b. The speaker says that the mite was too tiny to have any feet.

c. First the speaker thought the mite to be too tiny to have feet. But then he says that since the mite did not want to die, it ran with terror and crept cunningly. So the speaker thought that since it was running and creeping, it must have had a complete set of legs.

d. The mite first showed its unwillingness to die. This can be explained from the way it moved and ran. In order to express its reluctancy, it ran in terror and crept in a cunning way. Then it hesitated and next when it reached the middle of the paper it bent down.

Question 4.
Cower down in desperation to accept
Whatever I accorded it of fate.

a. Who “cower down accept” and why?
b. What did the speaker do then?
c. What did the speaker say about the modem men?
d. Through the lines of the above extract what does the poet wants to say about the mite?
Answers:
a. The mite cowered down or bent down desperately to accept its fate which was in the poet’s hands. It waited for the judgement to be given by the poet, possibly accepting what the poet would do to it.

b. The speaker let it lie there on the paper till he hoped it slept. He knew that it was not harmful, so it let it lie on the paper.

c. The speaker said that the modern men were swept away by a sense of purpose and selfishness which the speaker was not. He was against the “collectivistic regimenting of love” with which the modern world was being swept.

The poet was fascinated and wonder-struck with the minute creature as he examined it in details. Through his poem he tried to emphasize the importance of the microscopic creature. Inspite of its small size or inspite of being a speck, it is considerable or considered to be important for the poet as it is shown to have intelligence which is the utmost necessity of all the living creatures especially the human beings.

The mite displays its mind with intelligence on the paper by its different reactions like-pausing with suspicion, racing wildly, turning to fly, reaction to the ink with hatred, running with terror, creeping cunningly and bending down desperately to accept its fate.

Question 5.
No one can know how glad I am to find
On any sheet the least display of mind.

a. Who displays the mind and where?
b. Who is the speaker in the poem?
c. How would you describe the speaker’s attitude towards the speck he sees on his manuscript sheet?
d. What does the poem finally suggest is the significance of the speck?
Answers:
a. The microscopic creature, the mite displayed its mind with intelligence on the sheet of paper on which the poet was writing.

b. The speaker in this poem appears to be a writer as the use of the words pen, paper, ink and writing are mentioned several times in the poem.

c. The speaker seems to appreciate the speck. He respects it and almost treats it as a human in his poem. Even though the speck was there he neither let it get in his way nor did he make it upset. He basically thought to stop it from trespassing on his page by a period o ink but he did not. Then again we find how he left it on the paper until it slept.

d. The speck was a mite which helped the speaker realize several things. The mite itself was not really significant but the way it displayed itself on the sheet of paper was important. It displayed its mind on the paper by showing its intelligence inspite of its microscopic size.

A Considerable Speck Poem MCQs

Question 1.
The poem speaks of human capabilities of …………….
a. mind and intelligence
b. mind and soul
c. spirit and mind
d. none of the above
Answer:
a. mind and intelligence

Question 2.
Find a word from the poem that means the same as abhorrence …………..
a. poised
b. suspicion
c. loathing
d. desperation
Answer:
c. loathing

Question 3.
It ran with terror and ______crept. Fill in the gap
a. loathing
b. cunning
c. regimenting
d. strange
Answer:
b. cunning

Question 4.
Yet must have had a set of them complete. “Them” means ……………..
a. the mite’s wings
b. the mite’s eyes
c. the mite’s feet
d. none of the above
Answer:
c. the mite’s feet

Question 5.
Then in of the open sheet …. Fill in the blank
a. bottom
b. side
c. centre
d. middle
Answer:
d. middle

Question 6.
The speck here in the poem is said to have
a. evilness
b. cunningness
c. intelligence
d. both (b) and (c)
Answer:
d. both (b) and (c)

Question 7.
The word from the poem that means the same as ‘balanced’ is ……….
a. idly
b. loathing
c. poised
d. hesitate
Answer:
c. poised

Question 8.
The poet tried to stop the mite with the help of
a. a drop of water
b. a period of ink
c. a drop of tea
d. none of the above
Answer:
b. a period of ink

Question 9.
It ……………. : I could see it hesitate. Fill in the gap
a. faltered
b. paused
c. turned
d. raced
Answer:
a. faltered

Question 10.
The second stanza of the poem deals with the description of ………..
a. the mite using imagery
b. the speaker’s attitude towards the speck
c. the poet’s justification for not killing it
d. both a and b
Answer:
b. the speaker’s attitude towards the speck

Question 11.
The tone of the poem is critical
a. critical
b. satirical
c. creeping
d. both a and b
Answer:
d. both a and b

Treasure Chest A Collection of ICSE Poems Workbook Answers

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