Poem - On Killing a Tree Class 9 Worksheet English Chapter 1

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Q.1. Do we need to kill trees in the present scenario?

Q.2. What do you understand by the lines ‘Rising out of it, feeding upon its crust, absorbing years of sunlight, air, water’.

Q.3. What are the circumstances that compelled the poet to write such a poem?

Q.4. What is the contemplation of the poet when he says, ‘Not so much pain will do it’?

Q.5. Do you think, the poet is describing the way to kill a tree, or there is something else in his mind?

Q.6. Why does the poet write such a poem?

Q.7. Justify the title of the poem ‘On Killing a Tree’.

Q.8. Is this poem ironical or is it a satire on modernization?

Q.9. What will be the effect of hacking and the chopping on the tree?

Q.10. How can the tree get back to its former size?

Reference to Context Questions

Q1: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
It takes much time to kill a tree,
Not a simple jab of the knife
Will do it. It has grown
Slowly consuming the earth,
Rising out of it, feeding
Upon its crust, absorbing
Years of sunlight, air, water,
And out of its leprous hide
Sprouting leaves.
(a) Why does it take so much time to kill a tree?
(b) What does it consume?
(c) What does a tree absorb?
(d) Explain “leprous hide”.

Q2: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
It takes much time to kill a tree,
Not a simple jab of the knife
Will do it. It has grown
Slowly consuming the earth,
Rising out of it, feeding
Upon its crust, absorbing
Years of sunlight, air, water,
And out of its leprous hide ‘
Sprouting leaves.
(a) What kind of task is it to kill a tree?
(b) Why can a “simple jab of the knife” not kill a tree?
(c) How is the task of cutting a tree represented in the poem?
(d) What happens if the branches of a tree are cut off?

Q3: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
So hack and chop
But this alone won’t do it.
Not so much pain will do it.
The bleeding bark will heal
And from close to the ground
Will rise curled green twigs,
Miniature boughs
Which if unchecked will expand again
To former size.
(a) Why does the poet say ‘killing’ a tree rather than cutting it?
(b) “But this alone won’t do it..- What does ‘this’ refer to here? What does ‘it’ refer to?
(c) What does the phrase ‘bleeding bark’ mean?
(d) What are processes suggested to do it?

Q4: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
So hack and chop
But this alone won’t do it.
Not so much pain will do it.
The bleeding bark will heal
And from close to the ground
Will rise curled green twigs,
Miniature boughs
Which if unchecked will expand again
To former size.
(a) Explain “hack and chop”?
(b) What do you mean by ‘not so much pain will do it’?
(c) Where will the curling green twigs rise from?
(d) What finally kills the tree?

Q5: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
No,
The root is to be pulled out – 
Out of the anchoring earth;
It is to be roped, tied,
And pulled out-snapped out
Or pulled out entirely,
Out from the earth-cave,
And the strength of the tree exposed
The source, white and wet,
The most sensitive, hidden
For years inside the earth.
(a) What does the poet mean by the word “No”?
(b) Why should the root be pulled out?
(c) What is the meaning of “anchoring earth”?
(d) What is the condition of the root of the tree?

Q6: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
No,
The root is to be pulled out –
Out of the anchoring earth;
It is to be roped, tied,
And pulled out-snapped out
Or pulled out entirely,
Out from the earth-cave,
And the strength of the tree exposed
The source, white and wet,
The most sensitive, hidden
For years inside the earth.
(a) Where does the strength of the tree lie?
(b) How does the earth protect the tree?
(c) What role do the sun and air play in killing a tree?
(d) Explain the meaning of “earth cave”?

Q7: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
Then the matter
Of scorching and choking
In sun and air,
Browning, hardening,
Twisting, withering,
And then it is done.
(a) How do the roots look like when they are pulled out?
(b) What happens to the tree after it is pulled out?
(c) What happens to the tree after withering?
(d) “And then it is done” – What is done?

Q8: Read the extracts given below and answer the questions that follow.
Then the matter
Of scorching and choking
In sun and air,
Browning, hardening,
Twisting, withering,
And then it is done.
(a) “Then the matter..” What does ‘Then’ refer to?
(b) What role do the sun and air play in killing a tree?
(c) “The strength of the tree exposed.” Explain.
(d) What will happen if the miniature boughs are left unchecked?

You can access the solutions to this worksheet here.