By the end of this chapter, students will be able to:
- Summarise the incident described in the poem and its four stages.
- Explain what the speaker first thought the speck was, and why he changed his mind.
- List the mite's actions that show intelligence and suggest that it had feet.
- Explain the speaker's first impulse, final decision and reasons.
- Interpret the title and the closing joke.
- Identify the poem's tone and devices — irony, humour, personification, imagery, rhyme.
- Answer ICSE extract-based questions with reference to context and a reasoned personal response.