Poem at a glance
- Poet: Robert Frost (1874–1963); first published 1939; in A Witness Tree (1942).
- Situation: a writer at his desk, pen raised, paper, wet ink.
- Speck → dust? He is ready to stop it with his pen.
- Not dust — "unmistakably a living mite" with its own inclinations.
- Responses (intelligence): paused, suspicious of the pen; raced; loathed the ink; ran in terror; crept cunningly; faltered; cowered; desperate to survive.
- Movements (feet): ran, raced, crept, faltered, turned to flee — it must have had feet.
- Decision: let it lie there till it slept — respect for intelligent life; not sentimental "love of all"; mind recognises mind.
- Ending: wry joke — glad to find any sign of mind on paper.
- Tone: philosophical / reflective / meditative, with humour.
- Specimens: 2025 — captures the journey of a mite across a sheet of paper; 2027 — respect for intelligent life.
Common traps
| Trap | Correct idea |
|---|---|
| The poem is about a fly | It is about a mite. |
| The poet wanted to kill the mite in the end | He let it lie till it slept. |
| He spared it from sentimental love | From respect for intelligence. |
| He saw its legs | He deduced its feet from its movements. |
| He was reading | He was writing (pen, ink, paper, manuscript). |
| The tone is angry | Philosophical / reflective, with humour. |