ESSAY QUESTION

1. How does William Blake portray the terrible consequences of anger in his poem "A Poison
Tree"?

(or)

Write a critical appreciation of the poem "A Poison Tree" by William Blake.

Introduction

"A Poison Tree" is a poem written by William Blake. It was published in 1794 as part of his
"Songs of Experience" collection. The poem expresses the speaker's anger towards his
friend and his enemy. The speaker expresses his anger towards his friend and it vanishes.
He suppresses his anger towards his enemy and does not reveal it. The suppressed anger
grows into a poison tree and kills his enemy.

Extended Metaphor

As the speaker does not expose his anger towards his enemy, it grows into a poison tree. He
waters it in fear and sunned it with a fake smile. Eventually, the anger blossoms into a
poisoned fruit. The enemy eats the fruit and dies. The speaker is glad over the death of his
enemy. Here, the poet expresses the destructive nature of anger against his foe. He leaves
us a message that we can easily overcome our anger if we communicate it properly. Anger
can be dismissed by kindness.

Significance of Apple.

The speaker has used the word 'apple' to remind us the story of Adam and Eve in the
Garden of Eden'. God forbids Adam and Eve not to touch the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge".
Satan poisons the mind of Eve and corrupts Adam also to eat the fruit. As a result of that
God becomes furious and sends them out of His Garden. Similarly, the speaker's enemy has
eaten the bright apple and dies instantly.

Structure of the poem

A Poison Tree' has four stanzas with rhyme AA BB and each stanza has four lines. The
speaker makes use of end-rhyme to make it more significant. The poem is written in trochaic
tetrameter catalectic. The poet has used symbolism to express the weightage of his wrath.
The 'tree' symbolises wrath or loss of patience. 'Garden' is the symbol of the heart where
that hatred is nurtured. The bright apple' depicts vengeance. The whole poem is governed
by the theme of anger, hatred and revenge.

Moral Lesson

We learn a moral lesson from the poem "A Poison Tree". The speaker's treatment of anger
with his friend is entirely different from his foe. He expresses his anger openly to his friend
and so it has come to an end. It further paves way for the friendship to grow. On the contrary,
the suppressed anger towards his enemy grows into a poisonous tree and ends. the life of
his enemy. The speaker is not aware of the consequences of his terrible suppressed anger.
The moral of the poem is that we should not suppress our anger towards another person but
confront the person who hurts us and admit our issues directly. If we do not follow this simple
procedure, it will lead us to commit great blunders even to take away the life of others. So
the readers should ensure open communication and should not nurture hatred or wrath and
ill- feeling towards others.

Conclusion

William Blakes "A Poison Tree" deals with the theme of impact of anger on human beings.
The theme is revealed from the title itself. The title of the poem announces its central
metaphor. The tree is poisonous because it is nurtured by the hatred of the speaker. The
apple is poisonous because it is the child of the speaker's anger. As the speaker is deeply a
religious man, he has used Biblical themes in this poem. The poem suggests to the readers
that anger is a momentary madness, and we should control it.

PARAGRAPHS

1. How does William Blake express the consequences of anger in his poem "A Poison
Tree"?

Willian Blake's poem "A Poison Tree" is about the ill and corrupted effects of anger. He
explains vividly what anger and hate can do to a person. The poet tells us that once he was
angry with his friend. He told his friend about his anger and it vanished in the next moment.
The friendship started to grow

However, on the other hand, he was angry with his enemy but he never expressed his anger
to him. He kept his anger growing in his mind day and night. He nurtured it with hatret. He
showed a fake smile towards his enemy. The anger was symbolised by the speaker as a
poison tree bearing bright apples. The enemy was attracted by the bright apple. He entered
stealthily into the speaker's garden and ate the fruit. He died miserably beneath the poison
tree. The speaker was glad to see his enemy lying dead.

2. Describe the significance of the title "A Poison Tree".

Willian Blake's "A Poison Tree" is a short poem and one of his most appreciated works. This
poem was published in his collection of "Songs of Experience". In this poem, the speaker
expresses human emotions and their consequences. It was first published in London
University Magazine. The original title of the poem was "Christian Forbearance" and later on
it was changed to reflect inner thoughts of the poet. The whole poem is about hatred and
corrupted effects of anger towards others. The speaker shares his experience with the
readers by offering this title "A Poison Tree'. When he is angry with his friend, he expresses
it openly and it vanishes. On the contrary, he suppresses his anger towards his enemy in his
mind and consequently he dies. The poet symbolises his anger as a poison tree which is
deeply rooted in his mind. "He has sunned his anger with smiles and soft deceitful wiles". As
a result of that, the apple also has poisonous effects. The title "A Poison Tree" is an
extended metaphor used by the speaker to depict the cruelty and harmful effects of anger.

3. What is the central theme of the poem "A Poison Tree" by William Blake.

The central theme of the poem is anger, hatred and revenge. Though the poem is composed
in four stanzas, the speaker highlights the theme of revenge. The speaker's anger is
transformed into a poison tree with poisonous fruits. The enemy steals the apple and eats it,
without knowing that it is poisonous. The central metaphor, "A Poison Tree" explains the
truth of human nature. The poet highlights his enmity by metaphorically depicting 'fears and
tears' as water for the plant. The 'smiles' and 'deceit wiles' as sunshine for the plant to grow.
The speaker values the single fruit in the tree which is highly poisonous. The poem teaches
us a moral lesson of great value. One should always be honest and open about their feelings
with others. The poet reveals the impact of forgiveness and revenge in different angles. The
main message of the poem is that as God forgives our sins, we must also forgive the
mistake committed by others.

4. How does the poet use the Image of a tree to bring out the destructive effect of
suppressed anger?

The speaker is cunning and he does not tell his enemy that he is angry with him. As a result
his anger grows. His growing anger is traced through the growth of a tree. Just like. a tree is
watered and provided with sunlight for its growth, the speaker nurtures his anger with fears,
tears, fake smiles and wicked tricks. The tree of anger bears an apple that shines bright like
the apple in the garden of Eden. His enemy is attracted by its brightness and falls prey to
that. The poison from the apple has killed his enemy. The speaker also dies spiritually for
allowing his anger to grow and rejoicing at the death of his enemy. The speaker's own life
has been wasted thinking about the enemy and plotting against him all the time. It is an
assumption in the mind of readers that the speaker will be tortured by guilt and shame after
the death of his enemy.

5. Describe the Biblical allusion used by the speaker in the poem "A Poison Tree".

The speaker has quoted Biblical allusion in his poem "A Poison Tree" to emphasise his
point. The speaker states clearly in this poem what anger can do to a person. In the Bible,
the garden refers to the garden of Eden. The 'Garden of Eden' is the Biblical 'Garden of
God'. It is described vividly in the "Book of Genesis" chapters 2 and 3, and also in the "Book
of Ezekiel". The picture of 'Apple' reminds us of the story of Adam and Eve. God has warned
them not to eat the fruit of "the tree of knowledge". This fruit is commonly represented as an
apple and it is a symbol of temptation. As Adam and Eve have eaten the forbidden fruit, they
are sent out of the 'Garden of Eden' by God. Similarly the speaker's enemy is tempted by the
apple's shiny appearance. He trespasses into the speaker's garden stealthily and eats the
apple. He falls a prey to that. According to William Blake temptation towards anything is the
major cause for destruction.