A comparison and analysis of…
A DOLL’S HOUSE
Henrik Ibsen
&
A POISON TREE
William Blake
“From this moment, happiness is not the
question; all that concerns us is to save the
remains, the fragments, the appearance.”
From Torvald’s speech in Act III from A
Doll’s House
CHARACTERS FROM A DOLL’S HOUSE …and what they
represent in ‘A POISON TREE’
The narrator
Friend…
Foe…
Wrath…
Analysing the titles…
metaphors
- Nora’s words
- Dr Rank’s
words
Use of simple words
allows reader to guess
the content…
Use of “a…”
refers to general
situations
“I have existed merely to perform tricks
for you, Torvald. But you wanted it like
that. You and father have committed a
great sin against me. It is your fault that
I have made nothing of my life…our home
has been nothing but a playroom. I have been your dollwife, just as ay home I was father’s doll-child; and here
the children have been my dolls.”
A Doll’s House ACT III – Nora’s speech
“At the next fancy-dress ball I shall be invisible…there is a
big black hat – have you never heard of hats that make
you invisible? If you put one on, no one can see you.”
A Doll’s House ACT III – Dr.Rank’s speech
THEMES…
• Unreliability of appearances
• Sacrificial role of women
• Definition of freedom
• Deception
-threat posed by Krogstad’s revelations
- poison of deception and hypocrisy that
characterises the Helmer marriage
A Poison Tree
Represents the wrath (the
blackmailing) that grows
over time.
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.
Nora’s
perception
Torvald or
stereotypical
female
Symbolises Krogstad blackmailing
Nora due to the loan
Nora’s fear of Torvald
finding out about the loan
And I watered it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with my smiles
And with soft deceitful wiles.
…links to the
theme deception
…could be Nora’s playing
the role of a wife i.e. doing
whatever Torvald wanted
her to do
Personification
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.
Represents Nora’s
relationship with
Torvald
Krogstad or the foe “stole”
all of Nora’s happiness
And into my garden stole
When the night had veiled the pole:
In the morning glad I see
-Light
- new beginning
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.
-stereotypical portrayal of females
- Torvald
…suggests that Nora
is now “free”
Free. To be free, absolutely free. To spend
time playing with the children. To have a
clean, beautiful house, the way Torvald
likes it.
A DOLL’S HOUSE – ACT I – Nora’s speech