BSc BA ADP English Notes Poem A Poison Tree (William Blake) Reference Context Explanation

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Poem:

I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with 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 veil's the pole:
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretch'd beneath the tree.

William Blake:

William Blake was born in 1757 and died in 1827. He was an artist in addition to being a poet. In fact he became a book engraver and illustrated his poetry with original and exquisite etchings and drawings. His famous works include Songs of Innocence, 1789; and Songs of Experience, 1794. His notable engravings include illustrations of the Book of Job; Dante's Divine Comedy and Gray's poems.

Idea of the Poem:

The poem is built up on several contrasts; friend; for, love; hate; trust; deceit. The Poet talks of the nourishment of hatred. The process of nourishment is one that demands love and care--here it is used for a destructive purpose. Hatred is the outcome of a lack of trust: friends can forget and forgive, but enemies nurse their grudges, taking perverse pleasure in destroying each other. The use of the word "Apple" is reminiscent of the Garden of Eden and the idea of temptation. Eve succumbed to the luscious looking fruit of the Tree of Life and the wiles of Satan; So over here the enemy is tempted by "the apple bright:"

The act of stealth is committed at night--the time of darkness associated with evil: "tis now the witching time of night: [Shakespeare]". In the last line there is a sense of relief, almost triumph-hatred has won.

The language is simple: the meaning it conveys is profound. The implicit meaning is an important as the obvious one. The post leaves the reader to make his own subtle conclusions.

Reference:

These lines have been taken from the poem “A Poison Tree” written by William Blake.

Context:

In this poem the poet says that hatred is like a poisonous tree. If anger and scorn are not expressed, they keep on growing. The poet expressed his anger to his friend, it disappeared. He did not express his anger to his enemy it grew into a poisonous tree., The poisonous tree killed his enemy No doubt, hatred which is the outcome of lack of trust can harm, a rival but cultivating hatred in itself is not an admirable thing. The use of the Word “Apple” is reminiscent of the Garden of Eden and the idea of temptation.

Explanation:

Stanza: 1

I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry with foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

In these lines the poet says that once he got angry with his friend. He expressed his anger to his friend and it came to an end. In the same way, he became angry with his enemy but he did not disclose his anger to him. As a result, anger of the poet went on increasing. This is but natural if a person gives vent to his emotions, he feels relaxed. If he does not disclose his anger or other emotions, they keep on growing which is not a good sign.

Stanza: 2

And I watered it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears:
And I sunned it with smiles
And with soft deceitful wiles.

The poet says when he did not disclose his anger to his enemy; it went on increasing and become a plant. He developed a sort of fear. He Watered his plant with fright twice daily, i.e., in the morning? and in the evening. This water came from his eyes in the, form of tears out of anger and guiles. Both water and sun are necessary for the growth of tree. Water and sun helped him in growing his tree of wrath.

Stanza: 3 

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,

In these lines the poet tells u that as a result of his taking care of the tree it grew day and night very rapidly. One day it brought an attractive fruit in the form of an apple. His enemy observed that the fruit was shining and beautiful. He wanted to have it cunningly.

Stanza: 4 

And into my garden stole
When the night had veil's the pole:
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretch'd beneath the tree.

In the given lines, the poet expresses the out-come of the efforts made by him. He says since his enemy wanted to pluck the fruit of the tree cultivated by him, he entered his garden very secretly. It was night time and darkness had covered the poles or the whole universe. The enemy touched the apple and died at the spot in making efforts to pluck the fruit because it was poisonous from inside. In the morning the poet was very glad when he found that his enemy lying dead straight, under the tree, He was very cunningly deceived by his trick. The gist of the poem is that developing anger and hatred in itself are dangerous and harmful. One may injure one's opponents by one's anger and scorn but developing them is not admirable.

Written By: Asad Hussain