POISONED TALK

AUTHOR:
RAYMOND WILSOM
 STANZA 1

Who killed cock robin?

I, said the worm,

Withered Tree
I did him great harm.

He died on the branch of a withered tree

From the acid soil that poisoned me.

Cock Robin
 MEANING OF STANZA 1
• The worm said the acid soil poisoned it and now it had
poisoned cock robin after the bird ate the worm.
• Acid soil is toxic and harmful to plants and animals.Thats
why the tree where cock robin died is “a withered tree”.

ACIDIC SOIL WORM

 STANZA 2

Who killed the heron?

Heron
I, mouthed the fish,
With my tainted flesh
I killed tern, duck and drake,
All the birds of the lake.
Tern
 MEANING OF STANZA 2

• The fish said its poisoned flesh killed all

the birds of the lake..
• The word “tainted” means contaminated
of polluted

Lake
STANZA 3

Who killed the lake?

Example of Industry

I, boasted Industry,

I poisoned with mercury

Fish, plant and weed

To pamper men’s greed. Liquid Mercury

 MEANING OF STANZA 3
• Industry (factories) said it poisoned the
lake with mercury. All fish, plant and
weed died because men polluted the lake.
• The real reason for the death of a lake is
men’s greed.
• Mercury is a very poisonous substance.It
Weed
is released into the environment through
industrial process and careless disposal of
industrial waste.
STANZA 4
Who killed the flowers?
Field
I, moaned the wind,

I prowl unconfined,

Blowing acid rain

Over field, flood and fen.

Fen
MEANING OF STANZA 4

• The wind said it killed the

flowers because it blew acid rain
over field, flood and fen.
• The word “unconfined” means
freely
• The word “prowl” tells us that the Acid Rain Formation
wind moves around like an
animal looking for prey
 STANZA 5
Who killed the forest?

I ensured that it died, Earthworm

Said sulphur dioxide.

And all life within it,

from earthworm to linnet.

Linnet
 MEANING OF STANZA 5

• Sulphur dioxide (from cars and

factories) said it killed the forest and
everything that lived in the forest.
• Sulphur dioxide is a smelly gas or
Sulphur dioxide
liquid produced through industrial
process and the burning of coal and
petroleum.It dissolves in water to form
acid.
 THEMES
1 Environmental Pollution

Men are willing to destroy our mother nature for

more money and power. The factories, cars, and
other vehicles release poisonous gas and substances
like mercury. This pollutes the lake and the flora and
fauna in it.
2 Destruction of Nature.

Nature has flora and fauna. They affect one another. When
the lake gets polluted, the fish that lives in it will get
poisoned. When the birds eat the fishes, the birds get
poisoned. Also, if the wind is polluted, it brings the
poisonous gas everywhere; all plants will wither and die.
In the end, it destroys our mother nature.
MORAL VALUES
1 We must be responsible for the things we do

It is us humans who pollute the environment with careless attitude and greed.We must
take the responsibility for the crimes against nature.

2 We must not be too greedy. (for money and power)

It is the greed of mankind that is the main cause of the pollution that is destroying the
environment.The poem reminds us that we must no be extreme greedy,to want more than
we need.

3 We must love the nature

By warning us about the effects of pollution on the environment,the author is reminding us

to love nature.
MESSAGE 1:
Take responsibility for our crimes against
nature
In the poem,the creatures and elements who causes
the killing of wildlife animals are non-humans.The
poet gives all of them a human voice to make us
think who is really the killer of the wildlife.But as
we look for the answer,we realise that the creatures
and elements are not the real killer of the wildlife
because the deaths are cause by pollution,which is
cause by humans.
MESSAGE 2:Stop pollution,save the
environment

The poet tell us that many animals have

died,such as”all the birds of the lake”, “all
kinds of life –fish,plant and weed”

By pointing out the serious effect of

pollution,the author wants us to do something to
the environment.We must act to save the
environment from being destroyed.
TONE:Ironic

The character that confess to the killings in

each verse are not the real killers.The poet use
irony to draw attention to the truth,that humans
are the real killers.For example, in first
stanza,the worm confesses that he killed cock
robin.Ironically,the worm itself is twice a
victim.First,he was poisoned by the acid
soil.Then, he was eaten by the bird.
MOOD:Grim and Chiling

The use of word like ‘killing’,’great

harm’,’died’,’withered’.’poisoned’, ’tainted’,
and ‘moaned’ creates the grim atmosphere.
POINT OF VIEW

• Third person
• The persona ask questions and
reports the replies
SETTINGS
PLACE
• Countryside where all kinds of
animals and plants live.
• Europe and England where birds
like cock robin,terns,herons,ducks,
and linnets are commonly found
TIME
• 20~century—scientist
only began studying the
effects of acid rain in the
late 1960s
STYLES AND LANGUAGES

• The poem has 5 verse consisting of five

lines each
• The rhyme pattern is: abbcc
• Each verse begins with a question about
a crime against nature,followed by a
confession in italicised text to
differentiate it from the question.
PERSONIFICATION
The creatures and the environment
elements mention in the poem are given
human qualities.They can ‘talk’.
Such as,the wind ‘moaned’ and
prowls (line 17-18)
Sulphur dioxide ‘ensured’ the forest died (line 22)
The ones confessing to the
killings speak about their crimes
in a human-liked voice and they
use the first-person pronouns ‘I’
and ‘my’.Industry begins with a
capital letter like a name and
‘boasted’ like a man (line 12)
SYMBOL

• The crimes spoken about in the poem

symbolise the destruction of the environment.
• The poison mentioned in the poem symbolise
pollution.
• The killings of the flower by the wind refers
to air pollution