10. Summary of the poem "The Comet" by Norman Littleford

"The Comet" is written by Norman Littleford. The poem is divided into six stanzas with four lines each. Hence, each stanza is known as a quatrain.

The poem talks about a comet in full flight. A comet is a celestial object made up of ice and dust. It moves violently in space without stopping day and night. It is faster than a cheetah, stronger than a mountain, and has a tail that runs for millions of miles. The speaker also talks about how a tail appears on a comet.

 

A comet gets its tail when it gets closer to the sun in its orbit. The heat begins to melt the ice, creating vapour around the comet. The radiation from the sun pushes the dust, ice, and vapour out of the comet, leaving the particles hanging from the comet's rear end. The dangling particles become the comet's tail.
 
The speaker also warns us that a comet can pose a danger to earth if it gets too close to its surface. The shockwave from the comet can lead to earthquakes and other natural disasters. While comets can lead to destruction, it has also been said that a comet was behind the creation of life on earth. However, the speaker is instead drawn towards the aesthetic aspect of the comet than the scientific ones. He concludes the poem by reinforcing the central idea that ‘he knows no better spectacle than a comet in full flight’.