POISON TREE
BY: WILLIAM BLAKE
Morgan DiSerafino
Block 1B
03/19/14
Poison Tree
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 watered it in fears
Night and 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 veiled the pole
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretched beneath the tree
By: William Blake
WILLIAM BLAKE
•
William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker of the 19 th century who
was born on November 28 th 1751.
•
He was third of seven children; two of whom died in infancy.
•
He studied engraving but grew to love Gothic art which he incorporated into his own
work.
•
Blake's artistic ability became very useful in his youth, by age 10 he was enrolled at
Henry Pars's drawing school
•
He found admirers late in life has been vastly influential since his death in 1827 .
POEM BACKGROUND INFORMATION
•
He published this poem in 1794 as a part of his songs of experience collection.
•
It describes the narrator's repressed feelings of anger towards and individual and
emotions which in the end lead to murder
•
The poems theme explores mostly revenge, anger and the fallen state of mankind
•
Poisoning is used in many of William Blake’s poems
MY INTERPRETATION
• The poem means to me that he had a friend and an enemy that he felt anger
towards. He eventually got past the anger of his friend, but every day and
night he cried and his anger towards his enemy got stronger and grew both
day and night. He knew that his enemy knew that the anger was his and his
enemy kept it going. One morning he woke glad to see that his enemy was
murdered and the anger was finally over with. I think the poem was
expressed through the tree and nature of life and its called the poison tree
because he had so much anger and felt the need for revenge. I honestly
didn’t understand the poem at first but I eventually realized what he was
talking about. I think what William Blake did by describing his anger towards
his enemy through this poem using nature of a garden and a poisoned tree
was very vivid.
LITERARY DEVICES OF THE POEM
• The whole poem the “ Poison Tree ‘’ is basically an extended metaphor but I
have other parts I thought were good to see for literary devices.
•
• Personification- “ And it grew both day and night, Till it bore an apple bright ‘’
• Imagery- “ And into my garden stole , When the night had veiled the pole’’
• Imagery- “ In the morning glad I see, My foe outstretched beneath the tree”
• Assonance- “And I sunned it with smiles, And with soft deceitful wiles”
BEFORE HE CHEATS ..BY: CARRIE UNDERWOOD
•
Right now he's probably slow dancing with a bleached-blond
tramp,
and she's probably getting frisky...
right now, he's probably buying her some fruity little drink
'cause she can't shoot whiskey...
Right now, he's probably up behind her with a pool stick,
showing her how to shoot a combo...
Oh, and he don't know...
That I dug my key into the side
of his pretty little souped up 4 wheel drive,
carved my name into his leather seats,
I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights,
slashed a hole in all 4 tires...
Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.
And he don't know...
That I dug my key into the side
of his pretty little souped up 4 wheel drive,
carved my name into his leather seats...
I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights,
slashed a hole in all 4 tires...
Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.
Right now, she's probably up singing some
white-trash version of Shania karaoke.
Right now, she's probably saying, "I'm drunk"
and he's a-thinking that he's gonna get lucky,
Right now, he's probably dabbing on
3 dollars worth of that bathroom Polo*...
I might've saved a little trouble for the next girl,
'cause the next time that he cheats...
Oh, you know it won't be on me!
No... not on me
'Cause I dug my key into the side
of his pretty little souped up 4 wheel drive,
carved my name into his leather seats...
I took a Louisville slugger to both headlights,
slashed a hole in all 4 tires...
Maybe next time he'll think before he cheats.
Oh, maybe next time he'll think before he cheats...
RELATIONS
•
The theme of the song “ Before he cheats’’ and the poem “Poison Tree’’ both relate
to each other because they are both expressing anger and revenge in their lyrics
•
For example: “That I dug my key into the side of his pretty little souped up 4 wheel
drive,
carved my name into his leather seats ’’
•
“I might've saved a little trouble for the next girl, cause the next time that he cheats,
you know it won't be on me ’’
•
Carrie Underwood
William Blake
CONCLUDING SLIDE
Final Summary- To the poem was about him being betrayed by both his friend
and enemy, he then forgave his friend but couldn’t let the anger go between his
enemy. So in spite of that he had to seek revenge on his enemy and in the end
the enemy got murdered and he was happy to see he was gone and the anger
then disappeared
Important Saying- To me if a friend betrays you , I cant let go of that easily, I’m
someone who holds grudges.
Quote 1 - “You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than
enough ’’
Quote 2 - “ It’s easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend ’’
PICTURES