Poem #4: A Poison Tree by William Blake

The Poem: A Poison Tree

I 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 waterd it in fears,
Night & 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 veiled the pole;
In the morning glad I see,
My foe outstretchd beneath the tree.


About the author:William Blake was born on November 28, 2757 at 28 Broad Street, also known as Broadwick St. in Soho, London. He was the third of the seven children of his parents. Blake married to Catherine and taught here to write, in which she helped him color his printed poems. He was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. He is considered a seminal figure in history of poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. 



Personal Response:
             The poem, "A Poison Tree" by William Blake is has a cruel feelings to it. It is about the feelings about anger and destruction towards someone. This poem explains the truth of human nature. It has a moral lesson of how anger can be disperse by goodwill or nurtured to become a deadly poison like the title.
             The opening stanza sets up everything for the entire poem, from the ending of anger with friend, to the continuing anger with the foe. The poet’s use of personification was effective in describing the feeling in this poem. This poem personifies a poison tree in an illustration of the wrath of people towards someone they really hate and despise also known as a foe or enemy.
             This poem has taught me a great moral lesson that all people have a person they really hate. This poem reminds me of the book series called Twilight. In this book there are two enemies Edward and Jacob. They hate each other and fight for one girl named Bella. A personal connection I can make is that I hate my principal in my old school. I hated him so much. My hatred of him won’t go away, but grow and grow as nights and days pass like in the poem. The world is filled with love and other emotions. However, hatred has been the biggest emotion in the world. I suggest for those who hate their enemies to at least try to change that emotion the opposite way. Hating someone can give you stress and many negative effects to your social experiences.


TP-CASTT:

TITLE: The title A Poison Tree tells me that this poem is about a poisonous tree or about a mean. I hope that this poem is entertaining and gives a moral lesson.


PARAPHRASE:I was mad about my friend;
I told my anger, my anger did go away.
I was mad about my enemy:
I did not tell, my anger grew.

And I cried it in fears,
Night and day with my tears:
And I brightened it with smiles,
And with light deceitful wiles.

And it grew both day and night,
Till it bloom an apple bright.
And my enemy beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was mine.

And into my garden stole.
When the night had showed the pole;
In the morning, I am glad to see,
My enemy lying under the tree.

CONNOTATION: (Formal Analysis)
1. Structure - 4 quatrain, a simple rhythm scheme (A,A,B,B), , Meter - ANAPEST, Dimeter, Punctuation: periods, commas, semicolons. Parallel Structure.
2. Speaker - the angry friend or person, Audience - angry person's foe
3. Figurative language - personification, metaphor. Personifies the wrath to a poison tree. Compares anger between friend and foe.
4. Imagery - Sight ( bright, shining)
5. Repetition - there are repeats of the first line


ATTITUDE: Writer’s tone
Angry, vengeance, fustration,  Think complexity - The first two lines talks about his anger with his friend. The from the 3rd line to the entire poem refers to the anger towards its foe. Think Complexity: The tone shifts according to the the amount of days it passes.


SHIFTS:
1st quatrain - Compares his anger between his friend and foe.
2nd quatrain - The reaction of his anger towards his enemy.
3rd and 4th quatrain - Personifies his anger as a tree and his foe lying under it.


The first quatrain compares the anger of friend and foe. The 2-4 quatrain tells how the speaker couldn't make his anger from his foe disappear so it grows and personifies it as a tree.


TITLE: When I read the poem twice, I began to understand that the poison tree is a personification of the narrator's wrath towards his foe. The narrator compared his wrath towards his friend and foe. However, his wrath towards his friend disappears, but his wrath towards his foe grew and grew.


THEME:
1. You can always forgive a friend, but forgiving a foe is a difficult task.
2. Anger can sometimes be hard for it to be relieved.
3. Anger can make you reckless.
4. Foe is the most hardest thing to not to hate.
5. Anger causes uncontrollable feelings.



References (APA-6): Blake. W. (2010). A Poison Tree. Website. Retrieved from                     http://famouspoetsandpoems.com/poets/william_blake/poems/1002