How the poet has brought out of the pain of the tree in the poem 'On Killing a tree'?
Answers
In this poem, the poet symbolizes a deep-rooted evil. He says that a tree can’t be killed out just by hacking and chopping it. To put it to a permanent end, it should be uprooted entirely and left out to wither in the sun. In the same way, the social evil can’t be put out just by criticising them. The society should root them up to die forever.
On Killing a Tree” is a scathing criticism of human callousness and cruelty in chopping down trees for agriculture, urbanization and industrialization. Apparently, the poem reads like a ‘How-to-Do’ manual of killing a tree but actually, it is a passionate appeal not to cut trees. The poem also applauds the sturdiness and resilience of trees in that they take all kinds of attacks and wounds in their stride but refuse to die. They may be wounded, scarred or maimed, but they bounce back into life by healing themselves in due course of time. One wonders if human beings can ever have that kind of attitude to life.
On Killing a Tree” is a scathing criticism of human callousness and cruelty in chopping down trees for agriculture, urbanization and industrialization. Apparently, the poem reads like a ‘How-to-Do’ manual of killing a tree but actually, it is a passionate appeal not to cut trees. The poem also applauds the sturdiness and resilience of trees in that they take all kinds of attacks and wounds in their stride but refuse to die. They may be wounded, scarred or maimed, but they bounce back into life by healing themselves in due course of time. One wonders if human beings can ever have that kind of attitude to life.The title of the poem is simple and appropriate as it contains the major concern of the poet – merciless and callous felling of trees. It indicates appropriately that the poem is about the process of killing of the tree. The entire poem explains the view that killing a tree is not a simple, short or easy process. Trees have tremendous strength and a great instinct for survival.