English Form 4 Poem - A Poison Tree (Quick Revision Notes & Questions/Exercises)

wrath - extreme anger (kemarahan)
foe - enemy (musuh)
watered - pour or sprinkle water over (siram)
fears - feeling of afraid (ketakutan)
tears - (air mata)
sunned - (mencahayakan)
deceitful - dishonest (menipu)
wiles - lure (umpan/permainan)
bore - carry (bawa)
bright - (terang)
beheld - seeing something impressive
shine - a quality of brightness (berkilat)
stole - past tense for steal (curi)
veiled - cover (tutup)
glad - grateful (bersyukur)
outstretched - stretch out body (badan terlentang)
beneath - under (bawah)

Shortest Explanation of this Poem:

Malay Translation:

Dalam  puisi  William Blake iaitu "A Poison Tree", terdapat dua senario yang sedang berlaku. Pembaca mula-mula menganggap bahawa si Penulis sedang marah dengan kawannya, tetapi, kemarahannya tidak kekal lama. Si Penulis memberitahu kemarahannya terhadap kawannya, lalu kemarahannya hilang serta merta. Stanza pertama menunjukkan kuasa/kepentingan berkomunikasi.

Pada senario kedua, puisi ini menunjukkan bahawa si Penulis sedang marah lagi, tetapi kali ini dia sedang marah terhadap musuhnya. Kali ini, dia tidak berkomunikasi/berbincang tentang kemarahannya pada siapa-siapa. Oleh itu, kemarahan si Penulis terus membesar(seperti sepohon pokok) dan begitu juga ketakutannya. Kemarahan si Penulis telah menghasilkan sebiji epal yang kelihatan sangat sedap. Musuh si Penulis pula telah mencuri masuk ke dalam kebun(kebun kemarahan yang telah menghasilkan epal tersebut) si Penulis, lalu mencuri epal tersebut, dan malangnya, si Musuh telah mati disebabkan "epal beracun" itu.

Questions/Exercises:

Stanza 1

1. In stanza 1, which word in the poem means 'anger'?
    - Wrath.
2. Whom did the persona remain angry with?
    - His Foe/enemy.
3. In stanza 1, give the phrase that says the persona hid his anger
   - 'I told it not'.
4. In stanza 1, give a reason why the persona's wrath ended.
    - He communicated to his friend and let out his anger.
    - He talked about it.
    - He didn't keep it to himself.
5. In stanza 1, why do you think the persona's wrath grew?
    - He kept it inside.
    - He told no one about it.

Stanza 2
1. What is the anger compared to?
    - A tree
2. Why do you think the persona was crying?
    - He was very angry.
    - He was disappointed.
3. ' And with soft deceitful lies.' What does this line tell us about the persona?
    - The persona is cunning/deceitful.
4. Why did the persona smile even though he was angry?
    - He is pretending.
    - He doesn't want anyone to know he is angry.

Stanza 3
1. 'And it grew both day and night.'  What is 'it?
    - His anger/wrath.
2. What does the apple represent?
    - His anger.
3. In your own words, explain the phrase 'soft deceitful wiles'.
    - Cunning tricks/ deceitful acts/ to lure

I hope that this will be very useful for your upcoming exams, juniors. BREAK A LEG!

APA Format Referencing

Author.(Date of Publication).Title of book.Place of Publication : Company Name.

Thiruselvan J. & Kamala Genehsan. (2016). Achieve! spm english model test papers. Selangor: Oxford Fajar Sdn. Bhd.

-MR