The phrase, a simple jab of the knife, means the attempt to kill a tree by mere stabbing it with a knife.

• The poet says that an attempt to kill a tree only by stabbing it with a knife cannot be successful. If a tree is struck hard with a knife, it does not die. The tree can overcome such a blow. It has become strong by absorbing the nutrients from the earth. Since birth, it has been absorbing sunlight, air and water. So a simple jabbing won’t kill it. A tree can withstand a simple jab of the knife. The poet defines the difficult task of cutting down trees by using such a phrase ironically.

How has the tree grown to its full size? List the words suggestive of its life and activity. Why does it take much time to kill a tree?


“And out of its leprous hide/Sprouting leaves.”-What does the expression ‘leprous hide’ refer to? What does ‘its leprous hide’ bear? What is the significance of the expression? Bring out the irony suggested here.


Describe in detail the growth of a tree, as stated in the first stanza of the poem, ‘On Killing a Tree.


“So hack and chop/But this alone won’t do it.”-What does ‘it’ refer to? Why won’t hacking and chopping do it?


How does the tree in ‘On Killing a Tree’ heal itself?


“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.