“A Poison Tree” by William Blake

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The poem “A Poison Tree” by William Blake tells a story of human wrath that metaphorically grows in the narrator and becomes a tree. It is a four-stanza poem. It also features the following rhythm: AABB. The chronological analysis of the poem shows that each of the stanzas handles a particular theme, namely the birth of the wrath, its growth, its harvest, and the enemy’s death (DuCharme). The genre of this poem is romanticism, which is a characteristic feature of Blake’s art. Blake uses metaphors and antitheses to present the way that anger develops in a person making them suffer. The aim of “A Poison Tree” is to demonstrate through each stanza how wrath transforms into toxicity and convert the narrator’s concerns into a planned and awaited murder.The emergence of wrath and its different kinds are shown in the first stanza.
The first stanza focuses on the narrator’s perception of wrath only as indicated by the repetitions of “I” (four times). The difference between the two types of wrath is emphasized through the contrasting rhymes: “friend-end”, “foe-grow”. With the help of these rhymes, Blake demonstrates that wrath focused on friends cannot survive if its cause is discussed in a trustful conversation, but anger towards an enemy can flourish for a long period. The line “I told it not, my wrath did grow” can also be interpreted as the narrator's deliberate decision to conceal the irritation that he had with the foe. However, no explanation about the cause of this hostility is given in the poem.
The birth of wrath is presented in the second stanza. This stanza also includes the main metaphor of the poem reflected in its title that is the tree of wrath or a poison tree. Here, Blake also sets a contrast between “fears” and “smiles”. Fears cause tears, which become the water that a poison tree needs to grow. Blake allows the reader fantasize why the foe made the narrator cry. The tears could be caused by the foe’s angry remarks or bad deeds. However, the narrator also mentions “smiles” that help grow his tree. Smiles could indicate that this rivalry is not open, but hidden, and both the narrator and his foe meet in the same circle where their enmity is unknown, or concealed from others. At the same time, “smiles” can also symbolize the narrator’s unwillingness to discuss his anger with the foe, or the narrator’s friends, or relatives, so he pretends that he experiences no negative feelings and is happy. However, it is evident that the narrator becomes more miserable as the situation develops since he both cries because of it “…with [his] tears” and lies about it, too “…with soft deceitful wiles”. Blake uses conflicting language and vocabulary to show the narrator’s inner battle. The wrath is not expressed to the foe in any way, it suppresses and transforms into a metaphorical apple in the next stanza.
The third stanza is the culmination of the poem because it comprises two major symbolic events. The narrator’s wrath becomes an apple and the foe’s attempts to steal the apple. The line “Till it bore an apple bright” appears to be a deliberate reference to the forbidden fruit of the Bible. However, in this poem, the apple is not a symbol of forbidden knowledge, but rather of the lust for vengeance. It is also the symbol of the narrator’s decision to trick the foe and cause his death as showed in the lines, “And my foe beheld it shine,” “And he knew that it was mine.”. This verse shows that although the narrator knew how toxic the apple was, he was still determined to destroy the foe with it. With these verses, Blake reveals how rage that remains unexpressed can grow into a dangerous desire to destroy the cause of this wrath. This is deceitful vengeance. It does not simply bring harm, but also forces the avenger to lie and delude to eliminate the foe.
The fourth stanza presents the outcome of the narrator’s wrath, which unsurprisingly results in murder. Blake emphasizes that the foe’s actions were not lawful as well and the foe could not be innocent: “And into my garden stole,” “When the night had veild [sic] the pole” . The garden in this verse can be a reference to the Garden of Eden, from which Adam and Eve were expelled once they tasted the forbidden fruit. The garden also serves as the setting in this poem. The foe’s punishment for stealing the fruit is death. More importantly, this death brings joy to the narrator: “In the morning glad I see”. As Kennedy and Gioia mention, a character’s development does not always include growth, but can be built on deterioration as well. A person who could not temper his anger in the first stanza, the narrator transformed into a dangerous liar who is glad to see his antagonist dead.
The last stanza reflects Blake’s warning about the danger of wrath that remains unbounded. In Blake’s poem, unexpressed anger can easily become a poison that is powerful enough to destroy the lives of those directly involved in an opposition. Especially significant is the fact that the resolution of the conflict is not peaceful because such sins as lying and killing can never lead to a good finale. The grim ending emphasizes the dark tone and the daunting mood of the poem that slowly develops in each stanza.
In conclusion, through the transformation of the narrator Blake demonstrates how anger can change to coldblooded vengeance. Each stanza represents a shift in narrator’s wrath that begins to grow slightly and becomes a poisoned fruit in the end. Blake uses references to the Bible to emphasize the sin that both the narrator and the foe indulge in.
The poem “A Poison Tree” can be understood as a warning to any reader who is not able to cope with enmity in their relationships with others.