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.
| Meaning | ||
| Stanza 1 | 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. |
The worm said the acid soil poisoned it and now it had poisoned cock robin after the bird ate the worm. |
|
Stanza 2 |
Who killed the heron? I, mouthed the fish, With my tainted flesh I killed tern, duck and drake, All the birds of the lake. |
The fish said its poisoned flesh killed all the birds of the lake. |
|
Stanza 3 |
Who killed the lake? I, boasted Industry, I poisoned with mercury Fish, plant and weed To pamper men’s greed. |
Industry (factories) said it poisoned the lake with mercury. All fish, plant and weed died because men polluted the lake. |
|
Stanza 4 |
Who killed the flowers? I, moaned the wind, I prowl unconfined, Blowing acid rain Over field, flood and fen. |
The wind said it killed the flowers because it blew acid rain over field, flood and fen. |
|
Stanza 5 |
Who killed the forest? I ensured that it died, Said sulphur dioxide. And all life within it, from earthworm to linnet. |
Sulphur dioxide (from cars and factories) said it killed the forest and everything that lived in the forest. |
| Pictures to help you understand. | |
| Cock robin |  |
| Heron |  |
| Tern |  |
| duck and drake |   |
| Lake |  |
| Fen |  |
| Earthworm |  |
| Linnet |  |
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Themes:
- 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.
- 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:
- We must be responsible for the things we do.
- We must take actions to stop pollutions.
- We must respect nature.
- We must appreciate the Earth.
- We must not be too greedy. (for money and power)
- We must protect our environment.
For common questions you might want to check out the link below:
I try to make things as simple as I can,
If you have any questions, drop them in the comment box below, we will get back to you asap.
Happy Learning , Happy Teaching.
55 thoughts on “Form 3 Poem: Poisoned Talk – Raymond Wilson | Meanings, Vocabs, Themes & Moral values|”
Tqsm for the notes!
Much appreciated
You’re welcome Norlida! thank you for your comment, please continue to leave us feedback to help us provide better resource for you in the future. 🙂
Grace
PT3English
thank you very much……. My teacher never give us the notes……
Lol. Me too
my teacher is teaching me now!
sama-sama
Tq so much… the pictures of birds really help my students to understand better…
Two so much for these awesome notes.really helped me a lot
tqsm fr sharing the awesome notes and pictures….it really helps
How does the killer feel about his crime ?
What is the weapon used by this killer ?
What does the word ‘like’ refer to ?
Which word in stanza 3 tells you that the sulphur dioxide is very determined in killing the forest?
If you can do one thing to save the environment, what will you do ?
Hi Ammarhg,
Your questions depend on your own interpretation.
Here are my suggested answers:
1. How does the killer feel about his crime?
=The killer feel proud / The killer is not sorry about it.
2. What is the weapon used by this killer?
= The killer builds factories and cars to pollute the environment.
3. What does the word ‘like’ refer to ?
=(there is not ‘like’ in the poem)
4. Which word in stanza 3 tells you that the sulphur dioxide is very determined in killing the forest?
=’boasted’
5. If you can do one thing to save the environment, what will you do ?
= Reduce and recycle rubbish.
Hope this helps you.
PT3English
this is such a beautiful website & very helpful to the pt3 students.Hope god bless you.
Thanks for this information… It’s is very helpful..
Tqvm for the notes. Really help a lot.
My teacher told me to do a project based on the Poetry for Pleasure, page 43 question number 8:
What killed the forest and all life within it? But i can’t find any relevant answers except the sulphur dioxide.
Hi Anonymous Student,
Yes, I would have guessed the same too.
Sulphur dioxide
killed the forest and all life with it.
In science, we learn that sulphur dioxide reacts with the rain to form acid rain.
Sulphur dioxide + rain –> acid rain.
So when acid rain is formed, the wind blows it over the forest and kill all life within it.
Does that make sense?
Using this in my class to help students understand the poem better. Thank you so much.
tttttqqqqqqqqqq 🙂
thanks a million…its useful for my students. God bless you
hi, is this the form 3 poem for johore?
Hi, It is one of the form 3 poems for the entire Malaysia
TQSM for the notes
Tqsm Grace. Much appreciated for the helpful notes.
This is such a very useful notes for a pt3 candidate like me. Im having an english test tomorrow and finally i find this site. Thank you so so so much xx
What kind of question will usually come out in exam?
Hi, it’s hard to say really. but I’d say the following:
1.understand the content of the poem,
2. know the meaning of each word & line.
3. know its themes and moral lessons.
4. be able to provide suggestions and your own opinions.
thanks for the note.it help me a lot.*smile*
Tq very much….it is simple and make me easier to understand this poem…i really appreciate..
Thank you very much for this poem.It help me and my friends a lot.And we can understand it very well.Hope all the poem will be explained as well.thank you.
Actually who is the persona in poisoned talk poem?
Thank you for liking the content,
The persona should be the ‘I’ from the poem, including the flora and fauna, the wind, the factories from the industry, and the pollutants (sulphur dioxide)
Thank you very much…..now i have the answer…wish me luck for my PT3 examination
i like this page : )
thank you for sharing this useful information. I love the information contained in this website
Actually who is the persona in poisoned talk poem ??
#pt3candidate2017
Thank you for liking the content Fiza,
The persona should be the ‘I’ from the poem, including the flora and fauna, the wind, the factories from the industry, and the pollutants (sulphur dioxide)
Thanks for really awesome notes
i like this poem..but it is quite difficult to understands this poem
thank you very much..its help me much better…i’m understand the poem now.. 😉
I like your website.Thanks a lot,dear friend.
Thank god this helped me a lot
Very good,tq
thanks Grace. you really help me in answering my pt3 quiz. really appreciate the notes
Very simple but effective way to explain and teach this poem. However, do check your notes before posting them, as there are students who copy word for word. (E.g. past tense of ‘blow’ is ‘BLEW’; ‘men’s’ greed , although ‘Man’ should be used instead)
Hello Irene,
Thank you for your feedback and the mistakes have been amended. Appreciate your kind intention to help make this page better. We hope to hear more from you in the future. 🙂
Awesome! Used this for my class. Tqsm!
it’s exellent thank you too muchhhh…….
Very useful for pt3 candidate like me. But i have few answer for this title:what caused the lake to be polluted?
Thanks for this website….
Learn things at here.
Thank you so much for your explanation. Really help for me to explain to my son.
thanks for the notes… it help me to understand this poem 🙂
Thanks for this note and can help me answering the qustions for pt3
my teacher is teaching me now .
Thanks for this not beacause it is very important notes for me
tq for this information to me
Lawalah.Ngam² kena buat pbl psal ni poem.
Thank you so much, i needed this for a presentation