Poem 5 A Poison Tree KSEEB SSLC CLASS 10 ENGLISH SOLUTIONS

Poem 5 A Poison Tree KSEEB SSLC CLASS 10 ENGLISH SOLUTIONS

 

Poem 5 A Poison Tree KSEEB SSLC CLASS 10 ENGLISH SOLUTIONS English medium Karnataka state board,the Answers Are Prepared By Our Teachers Which Are Simple ,Pointwise,Easy To Read And Remember 

Poem 5 A Poison Tree KSEEB SSLC CLASS 10 ENGLISH SOLUTIONS

II.COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS :

A.Answer the following questions briefly.

1. What happened when the speaker expressed his anger?

– His anger ended.

 

2. What happened when the speaker suppressed his anger?

– His anger grew.

 

3. How are the results different in the two instances?

– Expressed anger ends; suppressed anger grows and causes harm.

 

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?

– “Grow.”

 

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:-

– Watered it with fears.

– Nourished it with tears.

– Sunned it with smiles.

– Used deceitful wiles.

 

6. Water’d it in fears” suggests that:

The speaker did not have the courage to express his anger.

 

7. The word “tears” suggests that:

The speaker too suffered for suppressing his anger.

 

8. “Sunned it with smiles” suggests that:

The speaker cunningly hid his anger with bright smiles.

 

9. Which line tells you that the speaker is a scheming and cunning friend?

– “And with soft deceitful wiles.”

 

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?

– “Water’d,” “sunned,” “grew.”

 

11. The poet, so far, has been talking about:

His suppressed anger.

 

12. What kind of a tree and fruit (here apple) can grow when they are nurtured by fears, tears, hypocritical smiles, and deceitful wiles?

– A tree of hatred with a poisonous fruit.

 

13. The word “it” occurs in all the four lines of the 3rd stanza. What does “it” refer to in each line?

– The anger.

 

14.“Apple” in the poem refers to:

1. The consequence of suppressing anger.

 

15. The apple is “bright” because:

It is intended to attract the foe.

 

16. Who “stole” into the speaker’s garden?

– The foe.

 

17. The word “stole” means:

That the enemy entered the speaker’s garden stealthily.

 

18. What does the speaker see in the morning?

– His foe lying dead under the tree.

 

19. Who, do you think, “dies” at the end? Is it only the enemy? Does the speaker also die? What kind of death does he die?

– The enemy dies physically; the speaker suffers a moral or spiritual death.

 

20. “A Poison Tree” could refer to:

ANSWER:-

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.

 

B.Close Study:

Read the following extracts carefully. Discuss in pairs and then write the answers to the questions given below them:

1.  “And into my garden stole/when the night had veiled the pole.”

a) Who stole into the garden?

– The foe (enemy) of the speaker stole into the garden.

 

b) Why did he steal into the garden?

– He stole into the garden under the cover of night to take advantage of the situation.

 

c) Explain the phrase “veiled the pole”.

– “Veiled the pole” means that the night had covered or concealed the pole-star (North Star), indicating it was nighttime.

 

2. “And I sunned it with smiles / And with soft deceitful wiles”

a) What does the word “sunned” suggest?

– “Sunned” suggests that the speaker nurtured or encouraged their anger, possibly by outwardly showing happiness or friendliness.

 

b) Explain the phrase “deceitful wiles”.

– “Deceitful wiles” refers to cunning or deceptive tricks and behaviors used by the speaker to hide their true feelings of anger.

 

c) Why had the speaker “sunned” it?

– The speaker “sunned” their anger with smiles and deceitful wiles to conceal their true feelings of anger, thereby nurturing it covertly.

 

III. PARAGRAPH WRITING :

Discuss in pairs or groups of four each, the answers to the following questions. Note down the important points and then develop them into a paragraph

1. How does the poet use the image of a tree to bring out the destructive effect of suppressed anger?

The poet uses the image of a tree to show how suppressing anger can lead to destructive consequences:

• Tree Imagery: The poet describes anger as a plant that grows into a tree when suppressed.
• Growth of Anger: When anger is not expressed (“I told it not”), it grows stronger (“my wrath did grow”).
• Nurturing Anger: The speaker nurtures this anger with tears (“water’d it in fears”) and false appearances (“sunned it with smiles”).
• Outcome of Suppression: The anger grows day and night until it bears fruit (“bore an apple bright”).
• Destructive Result: The foe notices this anger (“my foe beheld it shine”), leading to a conflict or harm.

Conclusion: Ultimately, suppressing anger doesn’t resolve it but intensifies it, leading to harmful consequences for oneself and others.In summary, the poet uses the tree imagery to illustrate that suppressing anger can cause it to grow stronger and lead to destructive outcomes, affecting both the person harboring the anger and their relationships.

 

IV.ACTIVITIES :

Discuss the following in groups of four each. One in each group notes down the important points. Share the group’s findings with the neighbouring group.

1. Was the speaker right to be “glad” at his foe’s death?

ANSWER:-

– Yes: The speaker felt vindicated as the foe had caused them harm and suffering.

– No: It reflects a vengeful and morally questionable attitude.

 

2. What has happened to his own garden with a poison tree? Was he happy in growing a poison tree?

-Outcome: The poison tree grew in the speaker’s garden, symbolizing the destructive consequences of harboring anger.

– Happiness: Initially, the speaker may have felt justified or relieved, but ultimately, it led to regret and guilt.

 

3. How could he have avoided planting a poison tree?

– Expression:Expressing anger constructively could have prevented its toxic growth.

– Resolution: Seeking reconciliation or addressing issues directly rather than suppressing emotions.

 

4. Identifying sounds in the first two lines (repetition of /r/ and /d/):

– Alliteration (repeated initial consonant sounds): e.g., “wrath/wrath,” “night/morning.”

-Consonance (repeated consonant sounds within words): e.g., “friend/end,” “told/wrath,” “night/morning.”

 

5. Rhyming words in stanza 3 and repeated vowel sound:

– Rhyming words: “shine,” “mine,” “pole,” “stole.”

– Repeated vowel sound: The vowel sound /aɪ/ (pronounced like the “i” in “shine” and “mine”) is repeated in these words.