POISONED TALK

FORM 3

POISONED TALK

BY RAYMOND WILSON

Prepared by : Miss Noorifzanney Zainun (MSU TESL Trainee)

STANZA 1

Who killed cock robin? MEANING
I, said the worm,
I did him great harm. The worm confessed to have killed the
He died on the branch of a withered tree cock robin. The worm said that it was
From the acid soil that poisoned me. poisoned by the acidic soil that even make
the trees withered.
Cock Robin

STANZA 2

Who killed the heron? MEANING
I, mouthed the fish,
with my tainted flesh The fish said he killed all the
I killed tern, duck and drake birds in the lake. They died by
All the birds of the lake. eating its contaminated flesh.

Drake Duck
Tern

STANZA 3

Who killed the lake? MEANING
I, boasted Industry,
I poisoned with mercury Industry (factories) said it poisoned the lake
Fish, plant and weed with mercury. All fish, plant and weed died
To pamper men's greed. because men polluted the lake. Men built
many factories to get more money/wealth.

STANZA 4

Who killed the flowers? MEANING
I, moaned the wind,
I prowl unconfined, The wind said he killed the flowers
Blowing acid rain because it blew acid rain over field,
Over field, flood and fen. flood and fen (everywhere)

STANZA 5

Who killed the forest? MEANING
I ensured that it died,
Said sulphur dioxide. Sulphur dioxide (from cars
And all life within it, and factories) said it killed the
from earthworm to linnet. forest and everything that
lived in the forest.

MORAL VALUES

• We must appreciate the environment.
• We must not be too greedy.
• We must be responsible for the things we do.
• We must take necessary actions to stop pollutions.

THEME 1 : Destruction of nature

Nature has flora and fauna. They affect one another. The
poem tells us that wildlife, the lake, the flowers and the
forest have been killed. When the lake gets polluted, the
fish that lives in it will get poisoned. When the birds eat
the fishes, the birds get poisoned. When the wind is
polluted, it brings the poisonous gas everywhere and
caused the plants to wither and die.

THEME 2: Effect of mankind’s greed on the environment

Men are willing to destroy our nature for more money and power. Man’s greed causes them to
refuse to dispose of industrial waste properly because it costs more.Their irresponsible
attitude sets off a chain of events that leads to the pollution of the environment and the
destruction of nature and life.

Example of chain of events:
Stanza 1: Industrial waste --> Acid soil –> Tree –> Worm –> Cock Robin
Stanza 2: Industrial waste --> River --> All the fish in the lake --> Heron and other birds

SETTING

PLACE TIME

• Countryside where all kinds 20st century
of animals and plants live.

• England and Europe –
birds like robins, terns, herons

and linnets are commonly
found there

• Near industrial area which
polluted the place

TONE AND MOOD

TONE: IRONIC AND SOMBRE MOOD: GRIM AND CHILLING

▪ The characters that confess to the killings in each verse ▪ The poem focused on unnatural death and killing. In the
are not the real killers.The poet uses irony to draw last stanza, the last killer says he ‘ensured’ that the forest
attention to the truth, that humans are the real killers. and all the creatures in it died.

▪ For example, in first stanza, the worm confesses that he ▪ The use of words like ‘killed’, ‘great harm’,‘died’,
killed the cock robin. Ironically, the worm itself is twice ‘poisoned’, ‘withered’ and ‘moaned’ create grim
a victim. First, he was poisoned by acid soil.Then, he atmosphere
was eaten by the bird.

LANGUAGE AND STYLE

▪ The poem has 5 verse consisting of five lines each

▪ The rhyme pattern : abbcc
Example:

Who killed cock robin? (a)

I, said the worm, (b)

I did him great harm. (b)

He died on the branch of a withered tree (c)

From the acid soil that poisoned me. (c)

REPETITION ‘Who killed the’ is repeated in the first line of each
▪ words, sentences or phrases used more than stanza

once in a poem

PERSONIFICATION ‘said the worm’
▪ giving human characteristics to something that is ‘mouthed the fish’

not human (animals, objects, plants) ‘boasted Industry’
‘moaned the wind’

SYMBOLISM

• The crimes spoken in the poem symbolise the destruction of the environment.
• The poison mentioned in the poem symbolise pollution.
• The killing of cock robin symbolise the destruction to wildlife via the natural food chain as a result of

land pollution.
• The killing of the heron and the birds of the lake symbolises the lethal effect of water pollution.
• The killing of the lake symbolises the danger of industrial waste.
• The killing of the flowers by the wind refers to air pollution.

• The killing of the forest symbolises the threat to the whole Earth.

THANK YOU