The poem is treated as copyright text, so this list explains words useful for discussing it, including the specimen's phrases.
4.1 Word bank
| Word / phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| considerable | large, important, worth considering |
| speck | a tiny spot or particle |
| mite | a very small creature (related to spiders and ticks); also, anything tiny |
| dust particle | a tiny bit of dust |
| unmistakably | without any doubt |
| inclinations | tendencies, wishes, will |
| manuscript | a handwritten (or typed) text, especially a writer's work |
| stimulus | something that causes a reaction |
| suspicious | distrustful, wary |
| loathing | strong dislike, disgust |
| cunning | clever in a sly way |
| falter | hesitate, move unsteadily |
| cower | crouch in fear |
| intelligence | the ability to think and understand |
| sentimental | full of soft, exaggerated feeling |
| collective | shared by a whole group |
| philosophical | thoughtful about deep questions of life |
| reflective | thoughtful |
| meditative | deeply thoughtful, contemplative |
| irony | saying one thing while suggesting another |
4.2 Key phrases (as used in the specimen)
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| no dust speck | not a particle of dust |
| a living mite | a tiny living creature |
| inclinations it could call its own | its own will and desires |
| an intelligence | a thinking being, a mind |
| let it lie there till it slept | leave it alone in peace |
4.3 Devices
| Device | In the poem |
|---|---|
| irony | the title: a "speck" that proves "considerable" |
| personification | the mite is suspicious, terrified, cunning, desperate |
| imagery | the tiny creature crossing the white page and the wet ink |
| humour | the deduction that it "must have had feet"; the final joke about finding mind on paper |
| contrast | the huge writer and the tiny mite; true respect versus sentimental "love of all" |
| rhyme | the poem is written in rhymed lines with a conversational rhythm |
4.4 Word formation
| Root | Related words |
|---|---|
| consider | considerable, consideration, considerate |
| mistake | unmistakable, unmistakably |
| suspect | suspicious, suspicion, suspiciously |
| intelligent | intelligence, intelligently |
| sentiment | sentimental, sentimentality |
| reflect | reflective, reflection |
| meditate | meditative, meditation |
| philosophy | philosophical, philosopher |