PREPARED BY: MADAM YAMUNA SAUNDARI SUBRAMANIAM

POISONED TALK

Who Killed cock robin?

I, said the worm,
I did him great harm.
He died on the branch of a withered tree
From the acid soil that poisoned me.

Who killed the heron?

I, mouthed the fish,
With my tainted flesh
I killed tern, duck and drake,
All the birds of the lake.

Who killed the lake?

I, boasted Industry,
I poisoned with mercury
Fish, plant and weed
To pamper men’s greed.

Who killed the flowers?

I, moaned the wind,
I prowl unconfined
Blowing acid rain
Over field, flood and fen

Who killed the forest?

I ensured that it died,
Said sulphur dioxide.
And all life within it,
From earthworm to linnet.
 PREPARED BY: MADAM YAMUNA SAUNDARI SUBRAMANIAM

MEANING OF STANZAS

Stanza 1

The worm claimed it killed cock robin. However, it was what killed the worm, killed the bird too.
The worm was poisoned from the acid soil it was living in, and when it fell prey to the bird, the
bird died from the poison too.

Stanza 2

In this stanza, the fish claimed it killed the heron and many other birds of the lake because of its
tainted flesh. The tainted flesh also indicates that the fish was already dead before it was eaten by
the bird, however, the poet did not specify how the fish was killed.

Stanza 3

This time, the industry boasted it killed the lake, also means that the industry rendered the lake
into an inhabitable condition. However, the industry justifies its killing of the lake’s animals and
plants was to pamper men’s greed.

Stanza 4

The wind accepted responsibility for the death of the flowers. The wind claimed it blew the acid
rain towards the flowers eventually killing them.

Stanza 5

At the end of the poem, the poet’s last question was: “Who killed the forest?” Sulphur Dioxide, a
poisonous gas to humans and the environment, said it was responsible for the forest’s death. Not
only did the gas kill the forest, it was killed everything living in it.

THEMES
Death

Life in the forest was dying. From small creatures to big ones, a chain reaction has
caused the death of several living things in the forest, but all of the deaths were
pointing back to the industry. The pollution from the industrial area nearby might have
contributed to water, air and ground pollution. The effects of pollution were then felt,
with the death of animals and plants, causing the biodiversity in that area to be in chaos.

Man’s Ignorance

Industries continue growing bigger and bigger to satisfy demands. However, as

industries grow, so as pollution. Protecting the environment is an expensive business,
 PREPARED BY: MADAM YAMUNA SAUNDARI SUBRAMANIAM

but with the lack of guidelines and laws, big industries continue spewing tons of
pollution into the environment, chocking it, literally. Most of the time, man’s leap
forward often ends up with several leaps backwards for the environment.

Protecting Nature is a Collective Responsibility

It is everyone’s responsibility when it comes to the environment. We should do small

things like recycling, and avoid buying plastic or other products which may contain
hazardous materials to the environment or of animal sources. If every person play their
part in protecting the environment, the world will be a better place, one small step at a
time.

Persona

The persona questions how the forest and those living inside died.

Setting

 Place

 An industrial zone with a forest and a lake located closely

 The poem may be set in Western Parts of the world, mainly Europe, and
highly likely in London as the poet is from there.

 Time

 Late 20th century – effects of acid rain were only discovered in the late
1960s.

Messages

 Pollution of any kind are bad to the environment.

 Government should pass and enforce stricter laws to curb pollution by the
industry.

 Keeping the environment clean is everyone’s responsibility.

 PREPARED BY: MADAM YAMUNA SAUNDARI SUBRAMANIAM

 If man were to continue polluting the Earth, we will soon have to find a new
planet.

Structure

 This poem has a specific rhythm ( a, b, b, c, c. )

 The first line of each stanza starts with a question.

QUESTIONS

1. What is meaning of ‘pamper mens’ greed’?

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2. Explain the “great harm” (stanza 1, line 3) the worm did.

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3. In stanza 4 (line 2), what does the wind feel about his crime?

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4. What happened to the fish in stanza 2?

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5. How does the soil become acidic?

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6. What is the meaning of ‘unconfined'(stanza 4 ,line 3)

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7. To what is the killer in stanza 4 compared? Which word in stanza 4 is evidence of it?

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8. What is it in acid rain that is poisonous?

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9. What is a linnet in stanza 5?

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10. Who is the persona in poisoned talk poem?

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 PREPARED BY: MADAM YAMUNA SAUNDARI SUBRAMANIAM

11. I did him great harm, why was the worm responsible for the death of cock robin?

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12. How was the fish responsible for killing all the birds in the lake?

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