SUPER EDUCATION GROUP SUNGAI ARA | 2017 FORM 3 | ENGLISH

1-2-12 Kenari Avenue, Tingkat Kenari 5, Taman Desaria Sungai Ara,

11900 Bayan Lepas. ( 7-11)

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Chapter 4 Life in the Twentieth Century

Poisoned Talk by Raymond Wilson
?
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 mens greed.

Who killed the flowers?

I, moaned the wind,
I prowl unconfined, /
Blowing acid rain
Over fields, flood and fen.

Who killed the forest?

I ensured that it died,
Said sulphur dioxide.
And all life within it,
From earthworm to linnet.

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MEANING OF LINES
STANZA 1
Line 1 : The narrator demands to know who killed
cock robin. A cock robin is a male bird. The robin is
common in England.
Line 2-3 : The worm replies and confesses that he
is the one responsible for the death of cock robin.
Line 4-5 : The worm describes where the bird died
on the branch of a tree. The cause of his death is
poisoning. The bird ate the worm which is
poisonous. The worm is poisonous because he was
poisoned by the acid soil. Acid soil is toxic and it is
harmful to plants and trees. That is why the tree
where cock robin died is a withered tree, meaning
the tree is dry and weak.

STANZA 2
Line 6 : The narrator asks who killed the heron (a
large bird that feeds on fish)
Line 7 : The fish confesses to killing the heron.
Line 8 : The fish killed the heron when the bird fed
on his poisoned flesh. The word tainted means
contaminated of polluted.
Line 9-10 : The fish says that he killed all the
birds of the lake including the tern, duck and drake.

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STANZA 3
Line 11 : The narrator wants to know who killed
the lake.
Line 12 : Industry boasts that he killed the lake.
The word boasted tell us that Industry is not
sorry for killing the lake, but is proud of it.
Line 13-14 : Industry explains how he killed the
lake. He poisoned the fish, weeds and the plants
in the lake with mercury. Mercury is a very
poisonous substance. It is released into the
environment through industrial processes and
careless disposal of industrial waste.
Line 15 : Industry says that he poisoned the lake
to pleased greedy men. The word men refers to
mankind, people, you and I (people who do not want
to spend money to dispose of hazardous industrial
waste properly because they want more profits).
The real reason for the death of the lake is mens
greed.

STANZA 4
Line 16 : Next, the narrator asks who killed the
flowers.
Line 17 : The wind confesses to the crime. The
word moaned tells us that the wind is sad.
Line 18-20 : The word prowl tells us that the
wind moves around like an animal looking for prey.
The word unconfined means freely. The winds
explain that he killed the flowers by carrying acid
rain over the land, be it cultivated field, flooded
carrying acid rain over the land, be it cultivated
field, flooded land or wetlands (fen). Like acid soil,
acid rain destroys plants.

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STANZA 5
Line 21 : The narrator wants to know who killed
the forest.
Line 22-24 : Sulphur dioxide answers that he
made sure the forest died along with all the wildlife
and creatures that dwell in it. Sulphur dioxide is a
smelly gas or liquid produced through industrial
processes and the burning of coal and petroleum.
It dissolves in water to form acid. Air polluted by
sulphur dioxide turns rain into acid rain, which is
harmful to plants and wildlife.
Line 25 : Sulphur dioxide says that he killed all life
from the earthworm to linnet (a small European
bird). This covers all living creatures. It tells us how
powerful and lethal sulphur dioxide is

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Setting
Time:

20th century (when scientists began studying the effects of acid rain
in the late 1960s

Place:

-Countryside where the persona can see the efftects of pollution on

nature.
-- England and Europe where birds like robins, terns, herons, ducks
and linnets are commonly found.
-- Not far from an industrial area.

Themes
1. Dangers of pollution
2. Destruction of nature
3. Devastation of wildlife
4. Mans role in destruction of nature
5. Destruction of environment
6. Fragility of nature and environment

Message / Moral values

1. Nature is innocent and beautiful and should not be destroyed but
should be valued.
2. We should protect wildlife that is the source of life of forests
and rivers, seas and oceans.
3. We should sustain our environment from pollution.
4. Man has the responsibility to look after Mother Earth.

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Tone, mood and atmosphere

Tone: direct and matter-of-effect
Mood: Serious and sympathetic
Atmosphere: reflective and regret

Rhyme and Rhythm

The rhyme pattern: abbcc

Literary device
1. Symbolism
The fish with tainted flesh is a symbol of sea water being
polluted

2. Personification
I poisoned with mercury - boasted Industry

3. Irony
The worm provides food and life to the robin but it ends up killing
it.
The lake provides man with food but then food within is destroyed
by man himself.

4. Repetition
The phrase Who killed is repeated to emphasise the
destruction and effects of pollution.
The repetition of the word I in the second line in every stanza
emphasises the party guilty of causing death.

5. Metaphor
the branch of a withered tree- the tree has turned dry and lost
its life as acid soil had poisoned it and made it wither.
to pamper mens greed- mens greed is compared to industry
which creates pollution and poisons animals and the environment.

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 SUPER EDUCATION GROUP SUNGAI ARA | 2017 FORM 3 | ENGLISH

Exercises (by stanza)

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Exercises (By stanza)

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Exercises

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2016PT3
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