On-Killing-A-Tree

1. Before You Read :
a. Have ever tried chopping a dead tree?
b. Have you seen an uprooted tree?
c. How long can the roots of a big tree grow?

2. On Killing A Tree
Gieve Patel
(1940)
OBJECTIVES :
• Critical Appreciation of the poem
• Identifying Figure of Speech, Rhyme Scheme
• Developing the skills of recitation
• How to write a poem
• Enhancing Vocabulary

3. Gieve Patel is an Indian poet, playwright,
painter, as well as a practising physician. He
belongs to a group of writers who have
subscribed themselves to the 'Green
Movement' which is involved in an effort to
protect the environment. His poems speak of
deep concerns for nature and expose man's
cruelty to it.
On Killing A Tree
Gieve Patel
(1940)

4. Introduction :
The poet reveals that it is difficult to kill a tree by merely cutting it
because it regrows from where it is cut. If it has to be destroyed, then it
has to be uprooted. The poet sensitizes the reader and highlights the
fact that trees are living things. He equates trees with humans to
convey that trees should not be cut because destroying trees is just
like killing a human being. The poet insists time and again that it is not
as easy to kill a tree as we think it to be. He reveals that real strength of
a tree lies in its roots. So the poet suggests that to kill a tree, it has to
completely uprooted. He then advises not to be complacent even after
uprooting the tree as it may not die if the roots are connected to the
earth. So the roots are to be dried under the sun thereby, snapping
away the supply of nutrients.
On Killing A Tree
Gieve Patel
It is to create an awareness in the minds of people that
trees are as much living creatures as animals.

5. Theme – Human attitude towards nature
Speaker – A narrator (may be the poet himself)
Figureof Speech
Alliteration: Bleedingbark - ‘b’ sound, White and wet - ‘w’ sound
Metaphor : Leprous hide - the uneven colour of the surface of the trunk of a tree
is compared to the skin of a person suffering from leprosy. Bleedingbark
Repetition: ‘Pulled out’ is repeated
Enjambment (End-stop is the Antonym) : A sentence in a poem continues to
the next line without any punctuation mark. (to attain pace or speed, to
convey multiple ideas)
Scheme : Free-verse
On Killing A Tree
Gieve Patel

6. Word Meaning
Jab: sudden rough blow
Leprous hide: discoloured bark
Hack : cut roughly by striking heavy blows
Anchoring earth: trees are held securely with the help of the roots in
the earth
Snapped out: chopped out
Scorching and
choking:
the drying up of the tree after being uprooted
On Killing A Tree
Gieve Patel

7. A simple cut does not destroy a tree. A tree grows gradually, it is rooted in the
soil. A plant takes nutrition from the soil to grow into a big tree. The tree is firmly
bound with the soil. It takes in sunlight, water and air to grow into a strong trunk
and have numerous leaves. Humans cut and chop the bark of trees into many
pieces but that is not sufficient to destroy the tree. The point of the tree which
gets cut gives out sap just like a human being bleeds. Gradually, this would heal
and from there new branches start growing again. The poet says that in order to
kill the tree, it has to be uprooted. One has to separate the tree from the Earth
which supports it. The roots of the tree bind the tree with the soil in the pit of the
Earth. From there, the most sensitive and hidden part of the tree - the roots have
to be detached. The roots are white in colour and are damp. The poet says that in
order to kill the tree, it has to be uprooted. One has to separate the tree from the
Earth which supports it. The roots of the tree bind the tree with the soil in the pit
of the Earth. From there, the most sensitive and hidden part of the tree - the
roots have to be detached. The roots are white in colour and are damp.
On Killing A Tree
Gieve Patel

8. Save Trees
Save Life