RAYMOND WILSON

Poisoned talk
 MEANING OF LINES
STANZA 1
Line 1 : The narrator demands to know
who killed cock robin. A cock robin is a
male bird that 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 cause of the bird 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.
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.
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.
Line 15 : Industry says that he poisoned
the lake to pleased greedy men. The
word men refers to mankind, people, you
and I. 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 killed the flowers by carrying
acid rain, be it cultivated field, flooded
land or wetlands (fen). Like acid soil,
acid rain destroys plants.
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. 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
 SETTING

- Countryside where all kinds

of animals and plants live.
- England and Europe - 20th century scientists
where birds like robins, only began studying the
terns, herons, ducks and effects of acid rain in the late
linnets are commonly found. 1960s
- Not far from the industrial
area which polluted the place

PLACE TIME
 PERSONA

The main voice in this poem is the

omniscient narrator who asks who
is to blame for a death.

The answers of the creatures and

elements which confess to the
crime are put in italicised text.
 THEMES

Who is responsible for the

destruction of the environment
and wildlife
Do you know ?
THEME Who is responsible for the destruction
1: of the environment and wildlife

The poem tells us that wildlife,

the lake, the flowers and the
forest have been killed. The
culprit who confess to the
crimes are:
the worm who killed cock
robin
the fish who killed the heron
Industry who killed the lake
the wind who killed the
flowers
Sulphur dioxide who killed the
forest
However, are these the real
CASE

1
Cock robin died after eating the
worm which has been poisoned
by the acid soil. So, the worm is
actually a victim. The worm is part
of the natural food chain and he
was caught and eaten by the bird.
The bird died because the worm
was poisonous due to the acid soil.
The real culprit then is the one
who polluted the soil and made
it acidic.
CASE

2
The heron died because it fed
on the tainted flesh of the
fish. Like the worm, the fish is part
of the food chain. The fish is also a
victim, poisoned by water pollution.
All the birds of the lake died after
eating the poisoned fish. The real
killer is the person who
polluted the lake.
CASE

3
Industry killed the lake by
poisoning al life in it with
mercury. He says it is to satisfy
mens greed. So, it is mens greed
that caused industry to pollute
the lake and destroy the life in
it.
CASE

4
The wind confessed that he
killed the flowers. He did it by
carrying acid rain everywhere he
blew. Acid rain is the weapon used
to kill the flowers. But how did the
rain become acidic? It is through
air pollution. So the real culprit
is the one who caused air
pollution.
CASE

5
The forests killer is sulphur
dioxide. Sulphur dioxide is
produced by the burning of coal
and petroleum for industry.
Who is the real culpit? Man.
THEME Who is responsible for the destruction
1: of the environment and wildlife

Men are responsible for the

destruction of nature
THEME The effect of man s greed on the
2: environment

Mans greed causes them to use

cheaper sources, such as coal-
burning, instead of cleaner but more
expensive forms of energy. They also
refuse to dispose of industrial
waster properly because it costs
more. Their irresponsible attitude
leads to the pollution of the
environment and the destruction
of nature and life.
MESSAGE 1 : Take responsibility for
our crimes against nature

In the poem, the creatures and

elements who confess to the killing
of wildlife and the environment are
non-human. The poet gives each of
them a human voice. In this way, he
makes us think about who is really
to blame for the crimes. As we look
for the answer, we realise that the real
killers are not those confessing. The
deaths are caused by pollution,
MESSAGE 2 : Protect the
environment, stop pollution
The poet tells us that many animals
have died all the birds of the lake
(line 10), all kinds of life fish, plant
and weed (line 14), all flowers over
field, flood and fen (line 20) and all life
from earthworm to linnet (line 25).
By pointing out the seriousness
of the effects of pollution, the author
wants to tell us to do something to
protect the environment. To prevent
MORAL VALUES
Love for nature
By warning us about the
effects of pollution on the
environment, the author is
reminding us to love nature.
Responsibility
It is us humans who poison
the environment with out
careless attitude and greed.
We must take the
responsibility for the crimes
against nature.
Moderation
It is the greed of mankind
(line 15) that is the main
cause of the pollution that
is destroying the
environment. The poem
reminds us that we need
to be moderate in the way
we live, not be extreme
and greedy, to want more
than we need.
TONE : Ironic and sombre

The character that confess to the killings

in each verse are not the real killers. The
poet uses irony to draw attention to the
truth, that humans are the real killers.
For example, in the first stanza, the worm
confesses that he killed cock robin. Ironically,
the worm himself is twice a victim, first, he
was poisoned by the acid soil. Then, he was
eaten by the bird.
MOOD : grim and chilling

The poem focusses on unnatural death

and killing. In the last stanza, the last
killer says that he ensured that the forest
and all the creatures in it died.

The use of words like killed, great

harm, died, withered, poisoned,
tainted and moaned creates the grim
atmosphere.
 LANGUAGE AND
STYLE
The poem has 5 verse consisting of
five lines each.

The rhyme pattern: abbcc

Each verse begins with a question

about a crime against nature,
followed by a confession in
italicised text to differentiate it
from the question.
confessions to
the crimes. Each IRONY
of the culprits
confessing to a
killing is not the
real killer. They
are either victims
themselves, such
as the worm and
the fish in the lake
or they are
accessories to
the crime, such as
Industry, the wind
and sulphur dioxide.
- Even though there
seems to be so
many killers, when
we trace the cause
and effect chain,
we discover that
 PERSONIFICATION

The ones
confessing to the
The creatures killings speak about
and their crimes in a
environment human-like voice
elements and they use the
mentioned in first person
the poem are pronouns I and
given human
qualities. They my. Industry
can talk. begins with a
capital letter like a
The wind name and boasted
moaned like a man (line 12)
and
prowls Sulphur dioxide ensured
(line 17- the forest died (line 22)
18)
 The question who killed and
the reply I are repeated at
the beginning of each stanza.

Repetition gives the poem a

REPETITION definite rhythm.

It emphasises the idea that

the environment and wildlife
are being destroyed and that
we need to do something to
stop it.
 SYMBOLISM
The crimes spoken about in the poem symbolise
the destruction of the environment.
The poison mentioned in the poem symbolise
pollution.
The killing of cock robin symbolises the destruction
to wildlife via the natural food chain as a result of
land pollution.
The killing of the heron and the birds of the lake
symbolises the lethal effect of water pollution.
The killing of the lake symbolises the danger of
industrial waste.
The killing of the flowers by the wind refers to air
pollution.
The killing of the forest symbolises the threat to
the whole Earth.
PRESERVE
OUR
ENVIRONMEN
T