The Comet Poem Summary & Line by Line Explanation in English 9th Standard

Introduction

The Comet by Norman Littleford is a poem describing the aesthetics of a comet. The poet shares his fondness for watching comets as they speed by. It is a rather simple poem and, in a sense, scientific too. The poem is divided into six stanzas, and each stanza has four lines.ย The rhyme scheme of each stanza is abcb

Stanza 1

Rampaging through the heavens
never stopping day or night,
a spectacle of a lifetime
a comet in full flight.

The comet travels speedily from the heavens. It neither stops during the day nor the night. The poet expresses how a comet in full flight is a spectacle to be watched.

Stanza 2

Faster than a cheetah
with a tail that's miles long,
bigger than a mountain
so powerful and strong.

Here the poet shares that a comet is faster than even a cheetah and has a very long tail. The comet is bigger than a mountain and very powerful and strong.

Stanza 3

The outer ice is melting
causing vapour from the force,
and leaves a trail behind it
as it travels on its  course.

The poet explains how the ice melts and from the cometโ€™s exterior and turns into vapour. This leads to a trail behind the comet and becomes its tail.

Stanza 4

If one should come too close to earth
the atmophere will shake,
with shockwaves reaching to the ground
causing the land to quake.

The poet warns the readers of the possible dangers of what would happen if a comet comes too close to the earth. The atmosphere will shake and these shockwaves would cause earthquakes.

Stanza 5

Scientists say the chemicals
in the dust they leave behind,
could have started life on earth
which resulted in mankind.

According to scientists, the chemicals in the cometโ€™s dust could have been the major factor in the creation of mankind. They are attributed as the factor that started life on the earth.

Stanza 6

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.

The poet says that he can not confirm how true this theory is as he does not own the right. However, he does confirm that he is not aware of a more beautiful sight than a comet in full flight.