A Poison Tree
BY 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 I waterd it in fears,
Night & morning with my tears:
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.
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 into my garden stole,
When the night had veild the pole;
In the morning glad I see;
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.
The Poet – William Blake
William Blake was born on 28th November 1757. He was not only an English poet, but a visionary
of his time, as well. He was also an excellent painter and printmaker. Art is what always attracted
this poet. He belonged to the era of the Romantic Age. Most of his poems depict emotions and the
consequences of the same. Although he was not very much recognized during his time, he turned out
to be posthumous. He had always used his imagination to express the innermost emotions of the
human race. Since he was, most of the time, in his own world of art, he was considered mad during
his time.
His poems are categorised into two: songs of innocence and songs of experience. His poems show
‗the two contrary states of the human soul‘. ―The Tyger‖ is the contrary poem to ―The Lamb‖ in the
Songs of Innocence. The Lamb is about a kindly God who ‗calls himself a Lamb‘ and is himself
meek and mild. The tiger, by contrast, is a terrifying animal ‗burning‘ with fire in its eyes. Some of
the popular poems under songs of experience are ―Garden of Love‖, ―London‖, and ―A Poison Tree‖
The Poem
The poem ‗A Poison Tree‘ is one of the most wonderful and appreciated works of William Blake. It
was published in the year 1794 in his collection of Songs of Experience, which talks about various
emotions of humans. ‗A Poison Tree‘ forces you to look deep down inside your own self. It makes
you ask a question to yourself – you often forgive your friends; would you ever forgive an enemy?
‗A Poison Tree‘ is an important part of Songs Of Experience, which was a follow up to William
Blake‘s Songs Of Innocence, published in the year 1789. Both the books were later brought together
and published under the title of ―Songs of Innocence and Experience, showing the Two Contrary
States of the Human Soul: The Author and Printer, W. Blake.‖ Although Blake focused on the
hidden emotions of humans, his poetry works did not get much fame all his life.
Stanza 1
The poet is not only expressing his anger towards his friend as well as his foe in this stanza, but he
has also depicted the difference between two types of anger. He states that when you are angry with
a friend, you convince your heart to forgive him. Even though you are hurt and you know that he did
injustice to you, you try your best to forget the past and end the feeling of vengeance in your heart.
Stanza 2
The poet is making a confession in this stanza of ‗A Poison Tree‘ – it is he, who is solely responsible
for the hatred that has grown in his heart for his enemy. It is he, who has increased the vengeance in
his heart. He has nurtured the hatred with his fears, spending hours together, crying for the ill that
has been caused to him by his enemy. He has also nurtured the hatred with his sarcastic smiles,
imagining ill and cursing his enemy to go through the same or worse sufferings that he has been
through.
Stanza 3
The poet states that it is because of his dwelling in the same hatred, that it has grown every day. The
hatred gave birth to an apple. The fruit signifies the evil that has taken birth in the heart of the poet.
He states that he has now come to a point from where he can‘t turn back and forget about his enemy
until he does something to soothe his vengeance. Finally, the day comes when the poet‘s enemy has
met the evil fruit of vengeance, that he has grown with his fears, tears, and sarcasm. The fruit has
now turned into a weapon. When the enemy confronts this anger, it is time for the weapon to serve
the purpose that it has been made for.
Stanza 4
Therefore, the poet states, the very next morning, the purpose is served. When the poet wakes up and
glimpses in the garden, he sees something that relaxes his mind and calms his vengeance forever.
The darkness of the night acted as an invisible cloak for the poet. Now, it is a beautiful morning.
There he is; his enemy, dead under the tree of his hatred. He bit the poisoned apple of his vengeance.
He is murdered.
Literary devices
Extended metaphor: the poison tree is the extended metaphor for the suppressed anger of the poet
towards his enemy and the tree‘s growth indicates the growth of his vengeance
End rhymes: see-tree, stole-pole, night-bright, shine-mine..................
Question
The poem ―the poison tree‖ explains the adverse effects of suppressed anger. Justify this statement
by giving examples from the poem.
Introduction: Two categories of poems of William Blake—songs of innocence and songs of
experience
Paragraph 1: general idea of the poem—the main theme is the suppressed anger and its effects
Paragraph 2, 3, 4: give example limes from the poem and explain
Example:
―And I waterd it in fears,
Night & morning with my tears‖
In the above lines the poet explains clearly how his vengeance grows inside him. It is similar to the
growth of a tree. Trees need water to grow. Similarly the tree called vengeance grows in the fears
and tears of the poet. These lines portray the change that takes place in our emotions when we hide
our anger from a person. We may feel insecure and disturbed when we meet that person because the
anger is within us and it is not exposed.
(You can take another 2/3 lines and explain like this)
Paragraph 5: conclusion—what you can learn from the poem