A Space Odyssey
This poem begins with the speaker sitting in a spaceship called Sputnik that takes
off into the dark night and shoots into space with a violent jerk. Through the
windows of the spaceship, the speaker can see heavenly bodies that look like
hanging lanterns. Comets and meteors zip by. An asteroid comes speeding towards
the spaceship, frightening the speaker, but moves away at the last moment.
The speaker’s friend seems dazed. The speaker looks down and sees the Earth
which is looking like a shining blue jewel. They land on Mars much sooner than
the speaker expects. The speaker is surprised to see that Mars is very different from
what the speaker has heard or learnt about it. It is not barren or full of burnt craters,
but is actually a beautiful place. It is calm and cool and they are warmly welcomed
by a group of aliens. As the speaker and his friend step on Martian land, they feel
light and seem to bounce up and down. Soon they are in a beautiful garden with
fountains, flowers, trees laden with dazzling gems, silvery lagoons and lakes,
tawny vistas and verdant plains. The speaker sees a herd of strange-looking
animals grazing on red grass. Eager to explore their surroundings, they look all
around and walk faster and faster. Suddenly there is a loud noise. Puzzled, the
speaker looks around and is surprised to see his mother standing near the door. She
is angry and scolding him for wasting time during his exams. Looking down at the
book, the speaker remembers that he has to study for his exams.
POEM: A SPACE ODYSSEY
Comprehension
A. 1. From the spaceship, the speaker saw luminous spheres at a distance. They seemed to be
suspended like glowing lanterns. The speaker also saw comets and meteors speeding by, creating
diffused patterns in outer space. Then he saw an asteroid coming towards the spaceship which
whizzed by. The speaker also saw the Earth, which seemed like a luminous ball, no bigger than a
sapphire dot.
2. The speaker had expected Mars to be a barren belt of sterile terrain or a rugged stretch of burnt
craters. Instead it was a cool and serene place, full of scintillating scenes and ravishing sights. Also,
the Martians did not attack them but warmly welcomed them.
3. The gravity of Mars is lesser than the Earth and so the speaker tended to float or lightly bounce up
and down while walking on Mars.
4. The speaker felt that Mars was a beautiful place that was cool and serene, full of scintillating
scenes and ravishing sights. The speaker liked the feeling of almost floating in the air and thought
it was a lot of fun to be in Mars. So, the speaker looked around and enthusiastically hurried
forward, eager to explore every part of it.
B. 1. a. ‘It’ referred to an asteroid.
b. The speaker was in a spaceship. The speaker was thankful that ‘It deviated from our track’ as
otherwise the speeding asteroid would hit the spaceship and destroy it.
c. ‘Mother Earth’ appeared to be like a luminous ball that shone like a sapphire. It would look like
that because the major part of the Earth is water and to the speaker it seemed to be shining
like the other heavenly bodies.
2. a. The speaker saw his mother.
b. The speaker’s mother scolded him for day dreaming. She called him lazy and said he should
stop pretending to study but start studying properly as his exams were going on.
c. The speaker was actually in his room. The speaker was supposed to be studying for his exam.
C. 1. Suspended like glowing lanterns
2. An asteroid came whizzing towards us.
3. But a heavenly place so cool and serene
4. Shot into space with a violent jerk.
D. Free response
A SPACE ODYSSEY POEM
A. Answer in brief.
Why did the speaker suddenly feel light and feathery?
Ans: The speaker and his friend had travelled away from earth into space in Sputnik towards Mars.
After encountering comets and meteors in outer space, they finally landed on Mars. The force of
gravity was much less there and as a result the speaker felt lifted in the air feeling light and feathery.
B. Answer in detail.
What was the speaker’s experience in the alien land? Why did it suddenly end?
Ans: The speaker was enjoying the most blissful experience in outer space. The heavenly place
was cool and serene full of mesmerising sights. He and his friend were received by the alien elves
with honour and a lot of warmth. They found themselves in a gorgeous garden with fountains and
blossoming flowers. The speaker was immersed in that beautiful experience when suddenly he heard
a harsh voice by his side. The speaker’s mother brought him back from his dream world to the real
world which abruptly ended his ethereal experience.
C. Read the lines and answer the questions.
Oh! How quickly we landed on Mars
It is so different from what I had learnt
Neither barren belt of sterile terrain
Not a rugged stretch of craters burnt.
a. How many people landed on Mars? Who were they?
b. What is different from what the speaker had thought?
c. How was it different?
Ans: a. Two people landed on Mars, the narrator and his friend.
b. The narrator and his friend had thought of Mars as a lifeless, barren land with lots of craters.
But what they saw was totally different.
c. The narrator found it very different from what he had learnt. It was a beautiful serene place
with gardens, fountains and flowers with lovely fragrance.
2. “You lazy one…. don’t you know this is exam time?
Again, you can’t play a dumb mime….”
a. Who says the above lines?
b. Why does the speaker make the above remark?
c. How did the narrator feel after this?
Ans: a. The narrator’s mother speaks the above lines.
b. The narrator’s mother was annoyed with the narrator because he was day dreaming and
she had to remind him of the exam.
c. The narrator felt bad that all the lovely experience he was having day dreaming had
come to an end and he had to sit with the books.
D. Answer in detail. (Think and answer)
Discuss the imagery used by the poet to describe the speaker’s experience on Mars.
Ans: The poem is written with a lot of force and imagination. The poet explicitly expresses how life
would be in another planet. Using beautiful imagery the poet describes Mars as if it is the land of
fairies and sprites. The speaker could see trees laden with sparkling gems, the lakes and lagoons
glittering like silver and the vast expanse of land filled with lush green vegetation and a herd of rare
and strange animals grazing on red grass. This spellbinding description takes the reader into this
heavenly land. The imagery is such that the reader literally sees everything in reality
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