A Poison Tree
By William Blake
“A Poison Tree”
William Blake
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.
And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine.
And he knew that it was mine,
And I watered it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.
And into my garden stole
When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.
Sound Familiar?
Annotation

You must not only read the poem, but you must
understand it as well. One way to analyze a poem
is to annotate or make notes.

Be sure to consider:


the literal meaning (paraphrase)
diction, syntax, imagery, and figurative language
Metaphor

A figurative comparison of two unlike objects
WITHOUT using “like” or “as”



Love is a battlefield
She’s a brick house.
Create ONE metaphor


My example: My hate for him is a rapidly inflating balloon,
growing and expanding to the point of explosion.
MLK’s example: Now is the time to lift our national policy from the
quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.
Poem Overview

Discuss/share thoughts and annotations.

To what is the narrator comparing his anger?

Is this an effective comparison? Why or why not?
Modeling CAPE
STAAR Open-Ended Response
C – CIRCLE the key
words in the question.
A – ANSWER the
question.
P – Provide PROOF
or textual evidence to
support your answer.
E – EXPLAIN how
your proof or textual
evidence supports
your answer.
Short Answer #1
1.
CIRCLE:
How is the title, “A Poison Tree”
appropriate for this poem? Explain your
answer and support it with evidence
from the text.
Short Answer #1
2.
ANSWER:
The title, “A Poison Tree” is appropriate
for this poem because it alludes to the
metaphorical effect of the speaker’s
unspoken anger.
Short Answer #1
3.
PROVE
The speaker in the poem compares his
wrath to a tree that bears “an apple
bright,” and when his foe eats the apple,
he finds his “foe outstretched beneath
the tree” (10, 16).
Short Answer #1
4.
EXPLAIN
Throughout the poem, the speaker talks about
how he tends his metaphorical tree, and the
conclusion of the poem shows that the fruit of
that tree actually kills his enemy. The title
effectively captures the primary metaphor of
the poem in a more explicit way, which serves
as an anchor for the poem’s figurative
comparison.
How Is This Response Effective?
Restates part of the
question in the answer
The title, “A Poison Tree” is appropriate for this
poem because it alludes to the metaphorical
effect of the speaker’s unspoken anger. The
speaker in the poem compares his wrath to a tree
that bears “an apple bright,” and when his foe
eats the apple, he finds his “foe outstretched
beneath the tree” (10, 16). Throughout the poem,
the speaker talks about how he tends his
metaphorical tree, and the conclusion of the
poem shows that the fruit of that tree actually
kills his enemy. The title effectively captures the
primary metaphor of the poem in a more explicit
way, which serves as an anchor for the poem’s
figurative comparison.
Uses
evidence
from the
text,
embedded
effectively
within the
sentence
Connects the
evidence to
the answer
and
concludes
the response
Notes on Embedded Quotation

Pick the most relevant parts of the text to
incorporate into your answer.

Provide the context for the textual evidence
with your own words.

Cite the line number in parentheses when
quoting from poetry.
Notes on Embedded Quotation

Use ellipsis (…) to remove words from the middle of a
quote as long as the removed words do not impact the
meaning of the quote.
 Example: The speaker’s anger “grew…Till it bore an
apple bright” (9-10).

Use brackets [ ] to change a pronoun or a verb tense to
clarify meaning for your answer.
 Example: The speaker “watered [the tree] in fears” (5).
Notes on Embedded Quotation
 We
will be practicing embedding
quotation ALL YEAR…it may take a
while to master this!
Independent Practice:
Choose ONE

In “The Poison Tree,” who is most affected by the
speaker’s unspoken anger? Explain your answer
and support it with evidence from the text.

In “The Poison Tree,” does the speaker regret his
actions? Explain your answer and support it with
evidence from the text.
Share Your Response:
Closure

A THEME is



a universal truth expressed in a piece of literature
more complex than a one-word idea
What do you think is the theme of this poem?

Hint: If the topic is revenge, then what is Blake saying
about revenge? THAT will lead you to theme.