Form 3 Literature Component ( 2017)

1. 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 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.

AMANDA LO | PT3 BI 1
Meaning

Meaning
Who killed cock robin?
I, said the worm,
I did him great harm. The worm said the acid soil poisoned it
Stanza 1 and now it had poisoned cock robin
He died on the branch of a withered tree after the bird ate the worm.
From the acid soil that poisoned me.

Who killed the heron?

I, mouthed the fish,
The fish said its poisoned flesh killed
Stanza 2 With my tainted flesh
all the birds of the lake.
I killed tern, duck and drake,
All the birds of the lake.

Who killed the lake?

I, boasted Industry,
Stanza 3 I poisoned with mercury
Fish, plant and weed
To pamper mens greed.
Industry (factories) said it poisoned the
lake with mercury. All fish, plant and
weed died because men polluted the
lake.

Who killed the flowers?

I, moaned the wind,
The wind said it killed the flowers
Stanza 4 I prowl unconfined, because it blowed acid rain over field,
flood and fen.
Blowing acid rain
Over field, flood and fen.

Who killed the forest?

I ensured that it died,
Sulphur dioxide (from cars and
Stanza 5 Said sulphur dioxide. factories) said it killed the forest and
everything that lived in the forest.
And all life within it,
from earthworm to linnet.

AMANDA LO | PT3 BI 2
Vocabulary

Pictures to help you understand.

Cock robin

Heron

Tern

duck and drake

Lake

Fen

Earthworm

Linnet

AMANDA LO | PT3 BI 3
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.
2. We must take actions to stop pollutions.
3. We must respect nature.
4. We must appreciate the Earth.
5. We must not be too greedy. (for money and power)
6. We must protect our environment.

Model Questions

1. What is meaning of pamper mens greed?

To satisfy humans desire for money

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

The worm killed cock robin.

3. In stanza 4 (line 2), what does the wind feel about his crime?
The wind feels sad and regretful.

4. What happened to the fish in stanza 2?

The fish killed the heron, the fish might end up dying too.

5. How does the soil become acidic?

It is polluted by toxic waste from the factories.

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

uncontrolled/freely

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

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

Sulphur dioxide.

9. What is a linnet in stanza 5?

A type of bird.

10. Who is the persona in poisoned talk poem ?

The persona is the I from the poem, including the flora and fauna, the wind, the factories from the industry,
and the pollutants (sulphur dioxide)

11. I did him great harm, why was the worm responsible for the death of cock robin?
The worm ate the soil that has poison. So when the cock robin ate the worm, the bird died.

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

AMANDA LO | PT3 BI 4
The birds in the lake ate the fish that had been poisoned by mercury.

13. What caused the lake to become polluted?

Mercury from the factories.

14. How were the flowers killed?

The wind blowed acid rain to everywhere.

15. What is the meaning of I prowl unconfined?

The wind moves around freely.

16. What killed the forest and all life within it?
sulphur dioxide

17. What are your feelings about pollution after reading this poem?
Pollution can bring a lot of harms to the environment.

18. Why do you think Raymond Wilson wrote this poem?

To bring awareness to his readers about the negative effects of pollution.

19. The poem aims is to make readers aware of the effects of pollution on environment. do yothink
this situation affect people in any way
Yes, people will lose clean water and fod.

20. In stanza 2, how could a fish cause the death of the birds in the lake?
The fish has poison in their flesh. When the birds eat them, the birds die.

21.In stanza 4, which line shows that the wind is free- spirited?
I prowl unconfined

22. How does the wind carry out its destructive act?
It blows acid rain over fields, flood and fen.

23. In stanza 3 ,industry is said to have killed the lake . Why do you think the poet uses the
word ,boasted ?
People are proud of the factories they have built.

24. What caused the lake to become polluted?

Mercury.

25. How does the killer feel about his crime?

The killer feel proud / The killer is not sorry about it.

26. What is the weapon used by this killer?

The killer builds factories and cars to pollute the environment.

27.Which word in stanza 3 tells you that the sulphur dioxide is very determined in killing the forest?
boasted

28. If you can do one thing to save the environment, what will you do ?
Reduce and recycle rubbish.

AMANDA LO | PT3 BI 5
2. The Day the Bulldozers Came by David Orme

The day the bulldozers came

Rooks were building
Crazy egg baskets in the oaks;
Green flies sizzled by the pond
And a cold-eyed toad
Waited for them.

The day the bulldozers came

Squirrels were scattering
Up tree trunks,
And leapt from branches
That were hardly there.

The fox
Stirred in his sleep
As the ground trembled.
Ha ha! he thought,
Im quite safe,
Deep down in the Earth,
No one can get me here.
Then the bulldozer came.

Meaning
The day the bulldozers came
Rooks were building When the bulldozers came to the
forest, Rooks (a type of bird) were
Crazy egg baskets in the oaks; making nests (egg baskets) in oak
Stanza 1 trees.
Green flies sizzled by the pond
Green flies were buzzing around
And a cold-eyed toad the pond while a toad was waiting
to eat them.
Waited for them.

The day the bulldozers came
Squirrels were scattering
Up tree trunks,
Stanza 2
And leapt from branches
That were hardly there.
The fox
Stanza 3 Stirred in his sleep
When the bulldozers came to the
forest, squirrels were scared and
they were running up the trees.
They tried to leap from branch to
branch, but the tree branches
were no longer there. The
bulldozers had knocked them
down.
The fox woke up from his nap but
he went back to sleep. He felt the
ground shake but he thought he
was safe deep down in the

AMANDA LO | PT3 BI 6
 As the ground trembled. foxhole. However, the bulldozers
came and dug him out of the soil!
Ha ha! he thought,
Im quite safe,
Deep down in the Earth,
No one can get me here.
Then the bulldozer came.

Pictures to help you understand

1. Bulldozers

2. Rooks

A type of crow

3. oaks

4. Green flies

5. toad

6. squirrels

AMANDA LO | PT3 BI 7
 7. branches

8. Fox

*photos credit:google
Themes:

1. Destruction of nature

The bulldozers are designed to knock down trees and flatten lands for development. However this has
resulted in the destruction of nature. Many trees are knocked down. Animals lose their home and have no
where to go.

2. Change is inevitable
Life is always changing. Change cannot be avoided. For example, the bulldozers are invented to replace
the animals and help human to develop new lands.

3. Alertness
It is important to be alert to our surroundings. For example, the fox believes that as long as he hides in the
hole, he will be safe. However he does not realise that the change that humans make is now able to harm
him even though he is deep in the ground. He needs to be alert so that he can survive the change.

4. Disruption of life
The lives of the animals in the forest are disrupted by humans activities. For example, the bulldozers knock
down the tree branches where the squirrels live. The bulldozers also disrupt the home of the foxes by
digging up the foxholes.

Moral values:

1. We should be alert to any threats and changes around us.

2. We should be ready to face changes.
3. We should respect the nature and the animals that depend on it.
4. We should protect flora and fauna and the only Earth we have.
5. We should understand that development projects can bring harm to the nature.

AMANDA LO | PT3 BI 8