Zaid Asim's The Poison Tree Notes
THIS NOTES WERE MADE FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSE AND SHALL NOT BE REPUBLISHED WITHOUT THE PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR (ZAID ASIM)
THIS COPY WAS MADE FOR HUSSAIN PUBLIC SCHOOL
Question 1.
What happened when the speaker expressed his anger?
Answer:
The anger ended when the speaker expressed his anger.
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Question 2.
What happened when the speaker suppressed his anger?
Answer:
When the speaker suppressed his anger, it only grew.
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Question 3.
How are the results different in the two instances?
Answer:
Expression of anger in the first instance relieves the person of all ill-feeling, whereas suppression of anger in the second instance poisons him even more because it grows.
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Question 4.
When the poet is thinking about his anger, the picture of a tree comes to his mind. Which word in the first stanza suggests a tree?
Answer:
The word “grow” suggests a tree. The pronoun “it” also implies that the poet is talking about a tree. The line “Till it bore an apple bright” supports this answer.
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Question 5.
The speaker helped his anger to grow. The second stanza mentions the different ways in which he helped his anger grow. What are the different ways?
Answer:
The speaker watered it in fears, night and morning with his tears, and sunned it with smiles.
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Question 6.
“Water’d it in fears” suggests that
a) the speaker did not have the courage to express his anger
b) the speaker was afraid of the consequences
c) the speaker didn’t want to displease his enemy
Answer:
(b) The speaker was afraid of the consequences.
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Question 7.
The word “tears” suggests that
a) the speaker too suffered for suppressing his anger
b) the enemy suffered
c) the speaker had to go through a lot of anxiety
Answer:
(c) The speaker had to go through a lot of anxiety.
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Question 8.
“Sunned it with smiles” suggests that
a) the speaker cunningly hid his anger with bright smiles
b) the speaker pretended that he was not angry
c) the speaker let his anger grow secretly
Answer:
(a) The speaker cunningly hid his anger with bright smiles.
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Question 9.
Which line tells you that the speaker is a scheming and cunning friend?
Answer:
“And I sunned it with smiles / And with soft deceitful wiles.”
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Question 10.
The second stanza continues the image (picture) of a tree suggested in the first stanza. Which words in the second stanza refer to a growing tree?
Answer:
“Water’d it” and “sunned it.”
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Question 11.
The poet, so far, has been talking about
a) his suppressed anger
b) a growing tree
c) both
Answer:
(a) His suppressed anger.
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Question 12.
What kind of a tree and fruit (here apple) can grow when they are nurtured by fears, tears, hypocritical smiles, and deceitful wiles?
Answer:
A poison tree with poisonous fruits.
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Question 13.
The word “it” occurs in all the four lines of the 3rd stanza. What does “it” refer to in each line?
Answer:
In the first line: the speaker’s suppressed anger.
In the second line: the poison tree.
In the third and fourth lines: the bright poisonous apple.
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Question 14.
“Apple” in the poem refers to
a) the forbidden but tempting apple in the Garden of Eden (in The Bible)
b) the consequence of suppressing anger
c) the fruit of his enmity
Answer:
(b) The consequence of suppressing anger.
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Question 15.
The apple is “bright” because
a) it is intended to attract the foe
b) it is intended to tempt the foe
c) it is cunningly devised to hide the bitterness
Answer:
(c) It is cunningly devised to hide the bitterness.
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Question 16.
Who “stole” into the speaker’s garden?
Answer:
The enemy.
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Question 17.
The word “stole” means
a) that the enemy stole the apple
b) that the enemy entered the speaker’s garden stealthily
Answer:
(b) That the enemy entered the speaker’s garden stealthily.
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Question 18.
What does the speaker see in the morning?
Answer:
The speaker sees his enemy dead under the apple tree in the morning.
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Question 19.
Why, do you think, “dies” at the end? Is it only the enemy? Does the speaker also die? What kind of death does he die?
Answer:
The enemy is physically and truly dead. But the speaker also suffers a lot of guilt for having caused this death. Though he is alive physically, he is emotionally and spiritually dead.
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Question 20.
“A Poison Tree” could refer to
a) the tree of hatred and enmity grown by the seed of suppressed anger
b) the destructive effect of being hypocritical and deceitful
c) the spiritual death of a person for nurturing base passions
Answer:
All of the above.
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II. Close Study
Question 1.
“And into my garden stole / when the night had veiled the pole.”
a) Who stole into the garden?
Answer: The speaker’s enemy stole into the garden.
b) Why did he steal into the garden?
Answer: He came secretly to steal the apple from the speaker’s apple tree.
c) Explain the phrase “veiled the pole.”
Answer: “Veiled” means “covered.” It can also mean “deliberately hidden in order to fool someone.” Here it means night covered the north star, making it dark.
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Question 2.
“And I sunned it with smiles / And with soft deceitful wiles.”
a) What does the word “sunned” suggest?
Answer: The speaker’s fake smiles acted like sunshine. As long as he smiled hypocritically, his anger with his foe continued to grow.
b) Explain the phrase “deceitful wiles.”
Answer: “Deceitful” means done deliberately to fool someone. The speaker pretended to be friendly with his enemy by behaving sweetly.
c) Why had the speaker “sunned” it?
Answer: The speaker was afraid to express his anger with his enemy. So, he pretended to be friendly and happy with him. This pretence only made his anger grow.
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III. Paragraph Writing
Question 1. How does the poet use the image of a tree to bring out the destructive effect of suppressed anger?
Answer (Paragraph):
The speaker does not tell his friend that he is angry with him. As a result, his anger grows. His growing anger is described through the image of a tree. Just as a tree is watered and provided with sunlight for its growth, the speaker nurtures his anger with fears, tears, fake smiles, and wicked tricks. The tree of anger grows and bears a bright apple, shining like the apple in the Garden of Eden. It attracts the foe, who steals it at night when the speaker is not looking. The poisonous apple kills the foe. The speaker too dies spiritually for allowing anger to grow and for rejoicing in the death of his enemy.
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IV. Activities
Question 1. Do you think the speaker was right in being glad at his foe’s death? Why? Why not?
Answer:
The speaker had always been afraid of his enemy and could not express his anger. But he could not forget it either. He nurtured it with fears, fake smiles, and deceitful wiles. When the enemy ate the poisonous apple and died, the speaker realized he no longer had to fear or pretend. So, he was glad at his foe’s death. Considering the circumstances, it was natural for him to feel glad. If he had expressed sorrow, it would have been false and insincere.
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Question 2. What has happened to his own garden now with a poison tree? Was he happy in growing a poison tree?
Answer:
The speaker’s life cannot be happy with a poison tree in his garden. His life has been wasted in thinking about his enemy and plotting against him. He has not found true satisfaction in growing a poison tree. After his enemy’s death, the speaker will be tortured by guilt and shame.
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Question 3. How could he have avoided planting a poisonous tree?
Answer:
The speaker could have expressed his anger openly with the enemy. He could have spoken about his hurt and asked the enemy for an explanation. This would have released his emotions and cleared his mind.
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Question 4. Read the 4 rhyming words of stanza 3. Which vowel sound is repeated?
Answer:
The four rhyming words are night, bright, shine, mine. The vowel sound “ai” is repeated.
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V. Summary of the Poem
The poet says that he was angry with his friend. But he expressed the reason for his anger, so it ended, and their friendship continued. He was also angry with his enemy but did not express it. His anger against his enemy grew day by day.
He allowed the enmity to grow with fears. He shed tears day and night because he could not express his feelings. Outwardly, he appeared happy and smiled to cover his anger.
The tree of enmity grew as he nourished it with fears and tears. It bore a bright apple which the enemy desired. Knowing that it was the speaker’s apple, the foe stole it one night from the garden.
In the morning, the speaker was glad to see his enemy lying dead under the apple tree. The tree was poisonous because it grew from suppressed anger.
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