Question

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.

1. What do you mean by ‘an intelligence’ in Line 1? Why does the poet assert this? (Analysis)
2. What was it that refuted the poet’s thinking that the mite had ‘no room for feet’? (Analysis)
3. ‘It ran with terror and with cunning crept’. Explain. (Analysis)
4. What is it that the poet satirizes later in the context? Why? (Understanding and Analysis)
5. What does the poet appreciate in others? (Understanding)

Answer 1

1. ‘An intelligence’ means the ability to think, understand, and act wisely. The poet asserts this claim because the mite showed awareness by sensing danger, reacting to the ink, and trying to save itself.
2. The mite’s quick and purposeful movements refuted the poet’s thinking. Its ability to run, hesitate, and escape showed that it had feet and used them intelligently.
3. The line means that the mite moved with fear and cleverness. It tried to escape from the ink carefully and quickly, showing its instinct for survival and its awareness of danger.
4. The poet satirises the idea of “collectivistic regimenting love”, which means blind love and equal treatment for all without considering individuality or intelligence. He rejects this idea because he believes that each living being has its own unique qualities.
5. The poet appreciates intelligence, individuality, and the ability to think independently in others. He values the presence of a mind, even in a tiny creature like the mite.