Class 9 English — Chapter 14: On Killing a Tree

What you'll learn

• ▸The Tree's Resilience and Life Source
• ▸Ineffectiveness of Superficial Attacks
• ▸The Crucial Role of the Root
• ▸The Tree's Exposed Vulnerability
• ▸The Final Process of Death
• ▸Poetic Imagery and Personification
• ▸The Ironic and Clinical Tone
• ▸Symbolism of Killing a Tree

Chapter Summary

--- PAGE 1 --- On Killing a Tree You must have observed people cutting down trees. But can they kill a tree? Is it easy to do so? Let's read the poem and find out what the poet says on killing a tree. It takes much time to kill a tree, Not a simple jab of the knife Will do it. It has grown Slowly consuming the earth, Rising out of it, feeding Upon its crust, absorbing Years of sunlight, air, water, And out of its leprous hide Sprouting leaves. So hack and chop But this alone wont do it. Not so much pain will do it. The bleeding bark will heal And from close to the ground Will rise curled green twigs, Miniature boughs Which if unchecked will expand again To former size. No, The root is to be pulled out — Out of the anchoring earth; It is to be roped, tied, And pulled out — snapped out Reprint 2025-26 --- PAGE 2 --- Or pulled out entirely, Out from the earth-cave, And the strength of the tree exposed The source, white and wet, The most sensitive, hidden For years inside the earth. …

Practice Questions from this Chapter

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1. Explain how trees communicate. Get Solution →
2. Describe tree root functions. Get Solution →
3. Discover the oldest tree. Get Solution →
4. According to the first stanza, what will a 'simple jab of the knife' NOT do? Get Solution →
5. What does the poem say the tree has absorbed for years to grow? Get Solution →
6. The term 'leprous hide' is used in the poem to describe the tree's what? Get Solution →
7. What happens to the 'bleeding bark' after it is hacked and chopped? Get Solution →
8. If left unchecked after hacking, what will rise from the ground and expand to its former size? Get Solution →

Did you know?

• 💡 Trees communicate underground using a 'wood wide web' of fungi.
• 💡 The oldest living tree is over 5,000 years old, existing before written history.
• 💡 Tree roots can stretch twice as wide as the tree's height for stability.
• 💡 Some trees create their own rain by releasing water vapor into the air.
• 💡 A single mature tree produces enough oxygen for two people annually.

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