A Poison Tree

by William Blake
PRESENTATION BY: TING JIE AND BEN
Stanza 1

I was angry with my friend: (line 1)

I told my wrath, my wrath did end. (line 2)
I was angry with my foe: (line 3)
I told it not, my wrath did grow. (line 4)

Stanza 2

And I watered it in fears, (line 1)

Night and morning with my tears; (line 2)
And I sunned it with smiles, (line 3)
And with soft deceitful wiles. (line 4)
Stanza 3

And it grew both day and night, (line 1)

Till it bore an apple bright; (line 2)
And my foe beheld it shine, (line 3)
And he knew that it was mine, (line 4)

Stanza 4

And into my garden stole (line 1)

When the night had veiled the pole: (line 2)
In the morning glad I see (line 3)
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.(line 4)
Line by line Meaning
Stanza 1

I was angry with my friend: (line 1)

I told my wrath, my wrath did end. (line 2)
I was angry with my foe: (line 3)
I told it not, my wrath did grow. (line 4)
Stanza 1 - I had a misunderstanding with my friend and was angry. I
told my friend about my wrath. I got over my anger and forgot it. But
when I got angry with my foe, I didn't tell him about it. I bottled up my
wrath and it intensified. It grew and grew like a plant.
Stanza 2

And I watered it in fears, (line 1)

Night and morning with my tears; (line 2)
And I sunned it with smiles, (line 3)
And with soft deceitful wiles. (line 4)

Stanza 2 - My anger grew like a tree. I nourished my anger-

tree with anger, suspicion and hatred. I was suspicious of my
foe and I was angry with him. But I tricked him to bring him
closer to me. Outwardly, I smiled and I was friendly to gain his
trust.
Stanza 3

And it grew both day and night, (line 1)

Till it bore an apple bright; (line 2)
And my foe beheld it shine, (line 3)
And he knew that it was mine, (line 4)

Stanza 3 - My "tree" was poisonous because it was full of

anger, hatred and suspicion. Later, it bore a shiny poison
apple. My foe saw it and knew it was mine.
Stanza 4

And into my garden stole (line 1)

When the night had veiled the pole: (line 2)
In the morning glad I see (line 3)
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.(line 4)

Stanza 4 - One night when there were no stars, my foe came

into my garden and stole my poison apple. He fell into my trap.
He ate the apple and died. In the morning, I was happy to see
him lying dead under my poison tree.
Summary
In this poem, the persona is angry after a misunderstanding
with his friend and his foe. He talks about the
misunderstanding with his friend and gets over his anger. But
he doesn't talk about his anger to his foe, so his anger
increases and grows into an anger-plant.
 The persona treats his growing anger like a growing plant. He
feeds the seed of his "plant" with anger and hatred. He waters it
with doubt, suspicion and hatred and he nourishes it with fake
sunshine. He gives his anger-plant "smiles" and "deceitful
wiles". Outwardly, the persona smiles and is friendly to his foe
so that he will trust him and be close to him. He is scheming to
trick and trap his foe. His increasing anger and hatred grows
into a poison tree.
The poison is actually the persona's wrath and hatred for his foe.
Then the persona becomes spiteful, revengeful and murderous
as his anger and hatred intensify. He plots to kill his foe and his
devious plan works when his poison tree bears a deadly poison
apple. The persona's foe sees it and is tempted to eat it. One
dark night, he sneaks into the persona's garden and steals his
poison apple. Then he eats it and dies. The next morning, the
persona is happy to see him lying dead under his poison tree.
Themes
1. The importance of communicating when there is a
misunderstanding
2. Harbouring ill feelings against someone
3. Forgiving and forgetting
4. Bottling up ill feelings
Moral Values
1. When there is a misunderstanding, we should talk about it to
resolve our differences.
2. We shouldn't harbour ill feelings against anyone.
3. When there is a misunderstanding, we must forgive and
forget.
4. Bottling up ill feelings is bad for us and those around us.
Setting
• Place -
in his garden , under the poison tree

• Time -
in the darkness of the night , the next morning
Tone
Anger, bitterness and maliciousness - The persona is
extremely angry with his foe. As his anger intensifies, he
becomes scheming and murderous. In Stanza 4, the tone is
also accusing. The persona accuses his foe of stealing his
apple in his garden at night.
SPM Questions
1. In Stanza 1 , what happens to an anger that is not
settled?

Answer:
It grows. / It becomes bigger than it actually is.
2. What does the tree symbolise ?
Answer:
It symbolises growing anger.

3. What does the word “deceitful” mean ?

Answer:
Lies