A Considerable Speck by Robert Frost: Summary

I saw a speck. It would have been out of my sight. It is only because it appeared on a white sheet of paper, in my manuscript, that saw it. I wished to stop it by a period of ink (of my pen). But something strange about the speck made me think over.

I thought that it was not "a dust speck" that could be blown by my breathing. It was unmistakably a "living" mite like me. It had certain inclination of its own. The mite paused; possibly it thought that I would do something to it. After this it came racing again to a place where I had just written. Then it paused and smelt the smell of ink and again turned to fly. It did nothing but used my reason. It would need little spot. It did not wish to die. It ran with fear. It was cunning, so it crept. It again hesitated (faltered). And in the middle of the sheet it bent down waiting for my judgment, possibly accepting what I would do it. Though a modem man, swept away be a sense of purpose and selfishness, I did not wish to kill the speck (mite). The microscopic item looked “considerable" for me. I let it lie there as it is. I am not an insensible man. I have a mind; I was so glad that such a small creature could rouse in me the display of mind. The poem expresses the poet's benevolent attitude. It also passes commentary on the modem life.

This simple poem does not deal with any serious themes directly. The situation of the poem is such that the writer happens to see a mite on a white sheet of paper he is using for writing. The speaker observes the movement of that tiny creature reflects back on the modern life of regimentation and leaves the creature there. The intention is to show the display of his own mind when he encounters a speck. Though tiny, it is at once considerable by making him think of its effect on his mind.

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Shrestha, Roma. "A Considerable Speck by Robert Frost: Summary." BachelorandMaster, 31 Aug. 2014, bachelorandmaster.com/britishandamericanpoetry/a-considerable-speck-summary.html.