In the poem ‘On Killing a Tree,’ the tree symbolises nature. Nature is the best healer. The tree is a powerful living organism. It has great regenerative power. It has the unique power of healing wounds and attacks. A simple cut with the knife cannot make it dead. Its amazing vitality enables it to withstand the cuts and bruises. Man gives the tree much pain by hacking and chopping, but the act of hacking and chopping cannot kill it. The tree fights for life again. The bleeding bark heals its wounds. New leaves come out of its leprous hide. The small boughs grow into big branches and expand to its former size. In this way, the tree survives all odds and heals itself after a period of time.

“But this alone won’t do it.”-What does this’ refer to? Why won’t this be able to do it? What is to be done to do’it completely?


“No, / The root is to be pulled out—”—What does the word “No’ suggest? What are the methods used by man to completely destroy a tree?


“The source, white and wet, /The most sensitive, hidden” What does the word ‘source’ refer to here? How does the poet describe the root and its function?


Explain: “And then it is done”.


How does the poet describe the killing of a tree in the poem, ‘On Killing a Tree’?


Why does the poet describe the killing of a tree in such graphie detail?


What is the message of the poem ‘On Killing a Tree’ according to you? Explain.


‘On Killing a Tree’ is an ironical poem.- Justify.


Give the central idea of the poem, ‘On Killing a Tree’.


Justify the appropriateness of the title of the poem, ‘On Killing a Tree’.


The poem, ‘On Killing a Tree’, describes man’s cruelty and violence to nature.-Discuss.


How does a tree offer resistance to its destruction? How does its resistance fail?