A POISON TREE

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 sunnèd 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.







       In the first stanza of "A Poison Tree", William Blake implies that when someone tells of their feelings, they will feel relieved.  Rather, if someone hid their feelings inside, the feelings would only get worse.  This stanza brings up the fact that everyone categorizes people they meet as friend or foe.  Along with that, people treat the two very differently, which could punish them in the end. For example, when someone hates another person, they would normally not go up to them and confess their feelings, therefore their feelings will get worse.  But, if someone is friends with another, they would most likely want things to be better, so they talk it out. 

       The second stanza includes Blake watering his wrath with his tears, which means his wrath was growing.  At the same time he was acting friendly to his foe, to trick him into thinking everything was alright between them.  Eventually, it grew to bear an apple, which looked appealing, but it was actually poisonous.  This relates to the Garden of Eden, where Eve is tempted by the apple, but it turns out to be a terrible trap.  Just like in the Garden of Eden, Blake's foe falls into his trap.  His foe sneaks into the garden at night, and stole the tempting poison apple.  When Blake woke in the morning, he was glad to find his foe dead under the tree.  This poem can relate to other people and their lives as well as the Garden of Eden story.  

       Reading and interpreting this poem has made me realize times I have been lured into a trap, but also times where I have lured others I did not like into a trap.  When someone is in high school, they see it every day.  For example, when people invite a nerd over to their table for lunch, the nerd thinks it might be a friendly gesture.  However, when the nerd goes over to them, they all make fun of him and pick on him.  Not only is it deceitful and sneaky, but it could come right around and bite you in the butt.  That is one of the main lessons that can be learned from "A Poison Tree", along with learning to not hide your feelings.  If you do suppress your feelings, they just exceedingly get worse.