The Comet, Poem is written by Norman Littleford (18 May 1889 – 20 May 1947). He was an American Poet who was born in Maryland, USA.
Norman Littleford’s works were about life and nature. Most of his are simple and deep in thought. His poems provoke the readers to absorb abnormal ideas.
Rampaging through the heavens Never stopping day or night, A spectacle of a lifetime A comet in full flight. ----4 Faster than a cheetah With a tail that’s miles long, Bigger than a mountain So powerful and strong. ----8 The outer ice is melting Causing vapor from the force, And leaves a trail behind it As it travels on its course. ---12 If one should come too close to earth The atmosphere will shake, With shockwave reaching to the ground Causing the land to quake. ----16 Scientists say the chemicals In the dust they leave behind, Could have started life on the earth Which resulted in mankind. ---20 I cannot say if this is true I do not have the right, But I know no better spectacle Than a comet in full flight. ---24
Figures of Speech
Before finding figures of speech from the comet poem kindly check this post ‘Figures of Speech‘ for a better understanding.
Important Lines
Metaphor
- Faster than a cheetah – The comet is compared to Cheetah. Also, it is Simile.
Repetition
- This line ‘comet in full flight‘, is repeated in lines 4 and 24.
Alliteration
- scientists say – Letter ‘s’ is repeated twice in the same line.
- full flight – Letter ‘f’ is repeated twice in the same line.
Rhyming Words
- Night-Flight, long-strong, force-course, shake-quake, behind-mankind, right-flight
Rhyming Scheme
- This poem has Rhyming words in the 2nd and 4th lines of every stanza. So the rhyming scheme is AA -AA-AA-AA-AA-AA.
Rampaging through the heavens Never stopping day or night
How does the comet travel?
Ans. The comet travel, rampaging through the heavens. That is the comet is travelling through heaven by making a lot of noise and causing damage to the area.
Which word could you replace ‘rampaging’ with?
a. charging b. rolling c. speeding d. flying
Ans. Charging might be replacing the ‘Rampaging’. Rampaging meaning is ‘going through an area making a lot of noise and causing damage’
2.
Faster than a cheetah With a tail that’s miles long,
Why is the comet compared to a cheetah?
Ans. The comet is compared to a cheetah, because of the speed at which the comet travels through space, and the time it takes to cover several thousand kilometres within a few hours.
Whose tail is compared here?
Ans. The comet’s tail is compared in the above lines of the poem.
3.
With shockwave reaching to the ground Causing the land to quake
What is reaching to the ground?
The comet reaches the ground on the earth. It travels through space, reaches the earth by hitting the ground and causes shockwaves.
What is causing the land to quake?
The cause of the land to quake is a comet. The comet hits the ground with great velocity and due to the force of gravity, the mass of the comet, and also acceleration generated due to gravity, makes the comet hit the ground with great force. This creates a shockwave, which even causes the land to quake.
4.
In the dust they leave behind, Could have started life on the earth Which resulted in mankind
What doe the word ‘they’ refer to?
In the above lines, the word ‘they‘ refers to the ‘Comet‘.
According to scientists, how did life start on earth?
The comets, when hit the ground leave dust behind. This dust could have started life on the earth, which also could have resulted in mankind.
5.
But I know no better spectacle Than a comet in full flight.
Who does ‘I’ refer to?
In the above lines ‘I’, refers to the poet ‘Norman Littleford‘.
What is the best spectacle mentioned in the above lines?
The best spectacle mentioned in the above line is a comet, which is in full flight.
Poetry Appreciation
If one should come too close to earth The atmosphere will shake, With shock wave reaching to the ground Causing the land to quake
Pick out the rhyming words.
Ans. The rhyming words from the above lines as shake, quake
Mention the rhyme scheme of the stanza.
If one should come too close to earth The atmosphere will shake, -------------------- A With shock wave reaching to the ground Causing the land to quake --------------------- A
Ans. The Rhyme scheme of the above lines is – AA