Tamil Nadu 9th Standard English Book Term 1 A Poison Tree Solution | Lesson 2.2

Lesson 2.2 A Poison Tree

Lesson 2.2 > A Poison Tree

Warm Up

A. Choose the option that suits your own behavior in the given situations. Compare your answers with a partner’s answers.

1. You overhear a friend talking badly about you. How angry does that make you feel?

• I don’t feel angry at all.
• I feel moderately angry.
• I feel slightly annoyed.
• I feel very angry.
• I feel a little angry.
• I feel furious.

2. Your friend persuades you to take help to prepare for the Maths board examination, from a close friend. That person does not turn up at all, as agreed. How angry does that make you feel?

• I don’t feel angry at all.
• I feel moderately angry.
• I feel slightly annoyed.
• I feel very angry.
• I feel a little angry.
• I feel furious.

3. You have agreed to pick up some friends at the train station. They are coming to stay with you for a few days. You’ve arranged with your elder brother/ sister to drive the car for the day. You are about to leave the house when you  A Poison Tree William Blake realise the car is outside but your brother/ sister has gone to work, taking the keys!. How angry does that make you feel?

• I don’t feel angry at all.
• I feel moderately angry.
• I feel slightly annoyed.
• I feel very angry.
• I feel a little angry.
• I feel furious.

4. During a get together, your friend makes fun of your singing in front of your friends. You thought your singing was fine, but your friend thinks you really need to practice much more. How angry does that make you feel?

• I don’t feel angry at all.
• I feel moderately angry.
• I feel slightly annoyed.
• I feel very angry.
• I feel a little angry.
• I feel furious.

B. Answer the following questions. Share your views with the class.

1. Do you argue often with your classmates?

Yes, I do. But often I am the first person to apologize or if necessary, make others realise their faults and become my friends once again.

2. Do you forgive them or choose to remain enemies forever?

I forgive my classmates. I do not consider them my enemies at all.

3. How long does your anger last?

My anger lasts for one or two days. I forgive my friends or apologize to them, if it is my mistake. We forget the bad quarrels and become friends again.

Glossary

C. Answer the following questions in a sentence or two.

1. I was angry with my friend
I told my wrath ‘my wrath did end.

(i). Who does ‘I’ refer to?

‘I’ refer to the Poet.

(ii). How did the anger of the poet come to an end?

The anger of the poet came to an end when he told his wrath.

(iii). Write a synonym for ‘wrath’.

The synonyms for ‘wrath’ is ‘anger’.

2. And I watered it in fears
Night and morning with my tears;

(i). What does ‘it’ refer to?

It refers to the seed [wrath]

(ii). How is ‘it’ watered?

It is water with tears.

3. In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretched beneath the tree

(i). How did the poet feel in the morning?

The poet was glad to see it in the morning.

(ii). Who is the ‘foe’ referred to here?

Satan is the foe referred to here.

(iii). Why was the ‘foe’ found lying outstretched beneath the tree?

The foe was dead. So he was found to be so.

4. And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright.

(i). Who does ‘it’ refer to?

‘It’ refers to the tree.

(ii). What does ‘apple’ signify?

Apple signifies wrath.

(iii). What grew both day and night?

The tree grew both day and night

D. Complete the summary by filling in the given spaces with suitable words.

Once the poet was angry with his friend. He expressed his (i) wrath or anger and it ended. They became friendly but when he grew angry with his foe, he (ii) did not tell it and allowed his anger to grow. Day and night he watered it with his tears allowing it to grow. He (iii) sunned his foe with false smiles and cunning tricks. The tree kept growing and yielded a bright apple which (iv) beheld his foe to eating it stealthily during the night. The next morning the poet was happy to see his foe lying (v) out stretched under the tree.

E. Answer the following questions in about 80-100 words.

1. How did the poet’s anger with his friend end?

Ans: The poet expressed his anger towards his friend as well as his enemy. But he specified the difference between two types of anger. He told that when he was angry with a friend, he convinced his own heart to forgive his friend. He sorted out the differences with his friend by expressing his anger to him and by discussing his own points of view with him. Even if he was hurt and he knew that his friend had done injustice to him, he would have tried his best to forget the past and end the feeling of vengeance in his heart. In this way, the poet’s anger, with his friend, came to an end.

2. Describe how his anger kept growing?

Ans: The poet confessed that when he was angry with his enemy, he did not reveal his anger to his enemy. He feared that if he expressed his anger to him, his enemy would do harm to him. So he suppressed his anger. Day and night he shed tears thinking about the ill or the injustice that had been caused by his enemy to him. Thus, he watered the tree of anger with his tears, allowing the anger to grow. He also aroused his anger with his false smiles and cunning tricks towards his enemy. Since the poet kept his anger within himself and had his own fear and tears, his anger kept growing every day.

3. Describe the effect of the poisonous fruit on the ‘enemy’.

Ans: The poet, William Blake, revealed his anger to his friend and the anger ended. But when the poet concealed his anger from his enemy, the anger grew. It grew like a tree that bore a bright apple. His enemy saw the shining apple. Even though he knew that the apple belonged to the poet, he wanted to have it. So the enemy came secretly into the garden when it was night and ate the apple. In the morning, the poet’s anger changed into gladness when he found the enemy outstretched under the poison tree. The apple in the tree of anger symbolizes the poisonous effect.

F. Poem Appreciation : Figures of speech.

Pick out at least two instances of alliteration from the poem.

1. I was angry with my foe.
2. Night and morning with my tears.
3. And I sunned it with smiles.
4. Till it bore an apple bright.

G. Read the following lines from the poem and answer the questions that follow.

1. I was angry with my friend;
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

i. Pick out the rhyming words.

friend – end; foe – grow

ii. What is the rhyme scheme of the stanza?

aabb

iii. Identify the figure of speech in the title of the poem.

Personification

2. And I watered it in fears
Night and morning with my tears;

i. What figure of speech is used in ‘watered it in fears’?

Personification.

H. Listen to your teacher reading out the tips on anger management. (The script can be either read out by the teacher or student, or recorded and played more than once as required).Listen and match the sentence parts by drawing a line.

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