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A POISON TREE
BY
WILLIAM BLAKE
STANZA 1 SUMMARY
Get out the microscope, because were going through this poem line-by-line.
Lines 1-2
I was angry with my friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.

As the poem opens, the speaker describes how he was angry with his friend. Bad
times.

Still, he told his friend he was angry ("I told my wrath"), and presumably why he was
angry, and his anger disappeared. Happy days are here again!

We notice that these lines are linked with end rhyme and a pretty consistent rhythm.
We wonder if this form will continue. (Spoiler alert: Check out "Form and Meter" for
more on this.)

Lines 3-4
I was angry with my foe:
I told it not, my wrath did grow.

The speaker describes a different scenario, now. He was once angry with his "foe"
(a.k.a. his enemy), but didn't tell him about it.

Since the speaker did not talk about his anger ("I told it not"), his anger got bigger and
bigger ("my wrath did grow").

You know how, when you keep something bottled up inside, it tends to make that
feeling more intense and overwhelming? We're guessing that this is what's going on
for the speaker here.

STANZA 2 SUMMARY
Get out the microscope, because were going through this poem line-by-line.
Lines 5-8
And I watered it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.

The speaker talks more about how his anger grows. Using figurative language, he
treats this anger very much like a plant. A plant needs water and sun in order to grow,
and so apparently does his anger.

He watered it with his "fears" and his "tears" and made sure it got plenty of sunshine.

Now, we know that the speaker didn't give his anger-plant real sunshine. Instead, he
gave it "smiles" and "deceitful wiles." These are more like "fake" sunshine.

They help the plant to growlike real sunshine would for a real plant..

A wile is a "crafty, cunning, or deceitful trick." "Deceitful wiles," then, are superdeceitful tricks (or really, really cunning traps). The speaker suggests that he is
a very deceptive person and that he is planning something very sinister and
mischievous. Whatever it is, though, his anger seems to dig it, since those deceitful
schemes are like sunshine to it.

A growing plant is usually a good, positive thing, a symbol of life. It seems ironic that
a growing plant is being compared to a growing anger. Is anger a good thing in the
world of this poem?

STANZA 3 SUMMARY
Get out the microscope, because were going through this poem line-by-line.
Lines 9-12
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,

Because of the speaker's efforts, his plant (anger) eventually bears ("bore") fruit: an
"apple bright." Yum!

Wait, is this apple a good thing?

The speaker's enemy sure thinks so. The enemy sees the fruit of the speaker's wrath,
and somehow, he's able to recognize that it belongs to the speaker. It's not clear how,
though.

Let's read on to see if that's explained later in the poem

STANZA 4 SUMMARY
Get out the microscope, because were going through this poem line-by-line.
Lines 13-16
And into my garden stole
When the night had veiled the pole;
In the morning glad I see
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

Aha! The enemy has seen this anger-apple in the speaker's garden. So, it's safe to say
that's how he knows it is the speaker's.

That doesn't stop the enemy from trying to steal it, though. After he has seen the
apple, the "foe" sneaks into the speaker's garden at night.

The word "stole" is a past tense of the verb "steal," which in this context means
something like "sneak in secretly." This word also suggests "steal" (like a thief steals).
It seems that the speaker is blaming his foe, or calling him a thief.

This happens when it's super-dark out. In the phrase "night had veiled the pole," pole
refers to the top of the earth, as in the "north pole," but it can also mean the pole star,
also known as the North star, also known as Polaris. It's an important star for
navigation, since it's bright and it stays pretty much fixed in the sky. Tonight, though,
the night has "veiled" it, covered it up. This star, used in navigating folks safely
through danger, is not visible. Uh-oh!

To suggest that the night (an abstract time) could actually cover up the star (like a
person might) is to use personification.

Apparently, at some point in the super-dark night, the enemy eats the apple, which
ends up killing him or making him fall asleep. It's not clear which, although the
speaker is glad to see him laid out in the garden. We're going to go with death for the
enemy here, since the speaker would likely not be too happy if his enemy both ate his
apple and used his garden like a cheap hotel.

Still, the word "glad" is a bit ambiguous here (it could have more than one meaning).
"Glad" could refer to the morning, as in "the morning is glad," or it can refer to the
speaker's feelings when he sees his "foe" lying "beneath the tree."

Either way, it seems like bad times for the enemy, good times for the speaker. Or is it?

A POISON TREE SYMBOLISM, IMAGERY, ALLEGORY

PLANTS
Symbol Analysis
The poem is called "A Poison Tree," so, naturally, vegetation plays an important role. Indeed,
the speaker's anger grows until it eventually produces a poisonous apple that, presumably,
kills his "foe." Plants, trees, and especially the processes necessary to make them grow
(water, sun, care) are our speaker's primary metaphors for how anger develops from a feeling
into a destructive action.

Lines 4: The speaker says his wrath grows because he didn't say anything about it. Of
course, anger doesn't literally grow, so growth is here a metaphor for the process by
which one's anger becomes greater and greater.

Lines 5-6: The speaker waters his anger (with tears and fears), but he doesn't literally
water it because it's not a real thing. Watering is here a metaphor for the development
and increasing power of one's anger.

Lines 7-8: The speaker gives his anger sunshine, only he doesn't literally give it
sunshine. "Sunn[ing]" is here again a metaphor for the things we do to make our anger
grow. Does it sound like a pit of snakes in here? Ah. That repetition of the S sound in
the beginning of "sunned" and "smiles" is called alliteration.

Line 9: The speaker's anger continues to grow. Anger doesn't literally grow, so growth
is here a metaphor for the process by which one's anger becomes greater and greater.

Line 10: The speaker's anger bears an "apple bright." Maybe in Blake's head anger
can bear fruit, but we know that the apple is just a symbol of, or metaphor for, the end
result of one's potent rage (in this case, a poisonous fruit that will kill a man). The
repetition of the "b" in "bore" and "bright" gives us another example of alliteration.

Line 13: The speaker tells us that his foe "stole" into his garden. The garden here
seems like a metaphor for the place in our mind where we let our anger fester, grow,
develop, and become, essentially, destructive.

Line 16: At last, the speaker's anger has matured in plant terms into a tree. The
damage that it causes is also fully developed. The "foe" lies dead beneath the tree,
which comes to stand for the giant, destructive thing that unchecked anger can
become.

NIGHT AND DAY

Symbol Analysis
The speaker is adamant about telling us what time of day it is. He waters his anger both at
night and in the morning. He gives it sunshine (in the daytime). It grows "both day and
night." The "foe" eats the apple at night, and the speaker sees him dead in the morning. The
speaker suggests that the growth and development of anger is something that happens all the
time, both at night and in the daytime. He implies that it is, in effect, a long-term thing that
takes over our lives.

Lines 5-6: The speaker waters his anger at night and in the morning with fears and
tears. He doesn't literally water it because it's not a real plant, so watering is here
a metaphor for the process of cultivating one's anger, for adding fuel to the fire, we
might say.

Line 7-8: The speaker gives his anger the sunshine it needs with his "smiles" and "soft
deceitful wiles." He doesn't literally give it sunshine because it's not a plant, so
"sunning" is here a metaphor for giving one's anger the nutrients it needs (Vitamin D
maybe?).

Line 9: The speaker's anger grows "day and night." There is no time that's it's not
developing.

Line 14: The speaker says the "foe" came into his garden when "night had veiled the
pole." That's significant, because "the pole" could refer to the North star, which was
used to guide people safely home. Here, though, when his anger is at its height, the
pole is invisible to the speaker, and all is plunged into darkness. This imagery is
telling of the speaker's misguided, even ignorant condition, all brought on by anger.

Line 15: The speaker sees his "foe outstretched" in the morning, when light at last
shines down on the scene. It's interesting that the foe's actual death is hidden from us,
the readers. Perhaps the speaker, in his own darkness, is not aware of the
consequences that such a tree might pose.

LIQUID IMAGERY
Symbol Analysis
The speaker talks about cultivating anger as if it were a plant. So, naturally he must "water"
it. Only, he doesn't water it with water, but rather with his tears. Sadness, anger, and other
negative feelings become the life-giving liquid that causes the anger to grow. It is arguable
that, because the speaker waters his anger with negative things like tears and fears, it
eventually bears a poisonous apple.

Line 5: The speaker waters his anger with "fears." He doesn't literally water it because
it is not a plant, so "watered" is here a metaphor for the cultivation of anger, for
adding fuel to the fire as we might say

Line 6: The speaker also waters his anger with "tears." While you could probably
water your plants with your tears (they do have water in them, after all!), it seems
more likely that the speaker is again speaking metaphorically about the cultivation of
anger. It seems that pain and sadness is an important element in the cultivation of
anger. Do you see them related in this way, too?

THE ENEMY
Symbol Analysis
Blake's poem is about being angry with an enemy and getting even with him. The speaker
does a lot of things to make his "foe" really seem like an enemy. For example, he tells how he
(the "foe") "stole" into his garden, which implies that the enemy has a proclivity (i.e., a
tendency toward) for thievery. Ultimately, though, the enemy is the victim of the speaker's
anger-apple. While he may admit that he was glad to see his foe laid low, we're left feeling far
more conflicted, and more sensitive to the damage our own anger might cause others.

Lines 3-4: The speaker refuses to tell his "foe" about his anger. Something about this
person stops him from communicating with him in the same way as he is able to
communicate with his friend.

Line 11: The "foe" sees the apple shining. The apple is a symbol for the harmful
outcome of hoarding and cultivating negative emotions like anger.

Line 13: The enemy sneaks into the speaker's garden at night. The implication is that
he is a thief of some kind. As readers, we're rooting against him.

Line 16: The enemy lies dead beneath the tree. Harsh! The tree is here a symbol of, or
metaphor for, the dangerous consequences of festering anger. Although the speaker is
high-fiving the world, we're left to take a sober lesson from his ultimately disturbing
example.

THEMES
A POISON TREE THEME OF ANGER
"A Poison Tree" is a poem about anger, and, more importantly, some of the destructive
consequences that can result when we cultivate our anger, rather than try a more productive
outlet for this potentially dangerous emotion (like stamp collecting!). The fact that Blake
refers to anger as "wrath" suggests that the poem is about a more serious type of anger, a
vengeful or spiteful feeling of biblical magnitude ("wrath" is commonly used in the Bible to
refer to the anger of Old Testament God). In other words, this is seriously powerful stuff that
must be carefully guarded against.
Questions About Anger
1. We know from the poem that anger is bad (mkay?). But does the poem offer any
advice about how to deal with people who make us angry, upset, frustrated, etc.? If so,
what? If not, why not?
2. How does the speaker feel about his anger? Does he regret it in the end? How do you
know?
3. How does the sing-songy rhyme scheme of this poem impact the way you understand
the speaker's anger?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devils advocate.
While Blake's poem illustrates some of the destructive consequences of anger, it also suggests
that it is a normal emotion that needs to be dealt with properly. Talk it out, folks.
"A Poison Tree" tells us that anger is never just anger by itself. It needs fear and sorrow to
develop. Worst recipe ever.

A POISON TREE THEME OF LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION

In the first stanza of "A Poison Tree," the speaker says, "I told my wrath, my wrath did end"
(2) and "I told it not, my wrath did grow" (4). The poem suggests that talking about emotions
is an important part of dealing with them. It also suggests that not talking about our emotions,
instead harboring and cultivating them, will lead to poisonous "fruit"the poem's metaphor
for the dire consequences of anger that's not dealt with properly. Trust usthat is one bad
apple. The good news is, though, that we can avoid the speaker's grim fate. We've just got to
get the bad stuff off our chest on a regular basis.
Questions About Language and Communication
1. Why might the speaker discuss his anger with his friend but not his "foe"?
2. How does the enemy recognize that the anger-apple is the speaker's, if there is no
communication happening?
3. Might the speaker have communicated his anger to the speaker in ways that weren't
necessarily expressed in speech (i.e., non-verbal communication)? How would we
know if he did?
4. Is it possible to keep negative emotions bottled up and not become unhappy and
miserable?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devils advocate.
That's it. Let it all out. "A Poison Tree" suggests that angerand perhaps other negative
emotionscan be eliminated or contained by talking about them.
"A Poison Tree" shows us how anger begets more anger, attracting others' hate to our own.
It's like a bad vibes magnet.

POISON TREE LANGUAGE AND COMMUNICATION QUOTES

How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
I was angry with my friend;
I told my wrath, my wrath did end. (1-2)

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The poem's first two lines show how anger can be literally contained or curbed: by talking
about it! They enact this theme formally as well. In line 2, the words "my wrath, my wrath"
appear sandwiched (this figure is called chiasmus) between "I told" and "did end" in such a
way that suggests talking is a way of containing anger and making it go away.

Quote #2
And I watered it in fears,
Night and morning with my tears;
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles. (5-8)
The repetition of "and" three times in this stanza illustrates how closely linked the
development of anger and a lack of communication are. It is as if the poem is saying "I didn't
speak about my anger and then x happened and then y happened and then z happened."
Quote #3
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 (9-12)
Neither the speaker nor the "foe" speak to each other. The communication here is entirely
non-verbal, and it leads to tragic consequences (for the enemy, at least). The speaker and his
foe employ other senses and physical gestures (in this stanza it's sight; in the previous stanza
it's tears, fears, and smiles), rather than communicating directly, and death results. The poem
champions speaking and listening over seeing.

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A POISON TREE THEME OF LIES AND DECEIT

"A Poison Tree" is all about lies and deception. The speaker suns his anger with "soft
deceitful wiles," and this anger eventually produces an apple that is deceptively bright and
shiny (deceptively because the apple turns out to be poisonous, not made of wax). The
speaker isn't the only guilty party, however. In the last stanza, the "foe" "steals" into the
garden, presumably in order to steal the apple whose bright, shiny peel must be irresistible.
Anger isn't just anger all by itself, then. The poem suggests that its good buddies lies and
deceit also accompany it.
Questions About Lies and Deceit
1. Whom do you see as the victim in this poem? Do you sympathize more with the
speaker (who is deceitful) or the speaker's "foe" (who steals the apple)?
2. How are anger and deceit related to each other in this poem?
3. How does the speaker deceive himself in the poem?
4. Does the speaker attempt to deceive the reader at any point in the poem? If so, when?
Chew on This
Try on an opinion or two, start a debate, or play the devils advocate.
"A Poison Tree" implies that negative emotions somehow generate each other. In other
words, anger leads to lies, deceit, revenge, and, even in some instances, death. It's a vicious
cycle (and not a Harley-Davidson).
Although the enemy essentially breaks into the speaker's garden, we still think that he is the
victim. The speaker's deceit and anger seem much worse than just stealing an apple. One
point for the dead guy.

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A POISON TREE LIES AND DECEIT QUOTES

How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles. (7-8)
The rhyme on "smiles" and "wiles" emphasizes the speaker's deception; "smiles" are
supposed to indicate happiness, or pleasure, or friendshipin short, any number of positive
things. The fact that "smiles" is paired with "wiles" illustrates the lack of any genuine
emotion on the speaker's part.
Quote #2
And it grew both day and night,
Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine. (9-11)
The apple is deceptively "bright" and "shiny." We know it is poisonous and that nothing good
can come from it. The poem suggests that anger can make things appear to be what they are
not. In a sense, anger releases a silent killer, something that is in reality incredibly dangerous,
not the least because it is so alluring.

Quote #3
And into my garden stole
When the night had veiled the pole; (13-14)
It appears the "foe" is deceitful as well, as he sneaks into the speaker's garden at night. Of
course, for his part, the foe is deceived by the allure of the apple. Deception seems to infect,
and affect, everyone in the poem.

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A POISON TREE QUESTIONS

Bring on the tough stuff - theres not just one right answer.
1. Why do you think Blake chose an apple rather than, say, a pomegranate, or an orange,
or a kumquat?
2. Would you teach Blake's poem to your children in order to teach them about anger?
Why or why not?
3. Why does the enemy want to eat the speaker's apple? Why is it so attractive?
4. Who is to blame for the enemy's death (if you agree that he's died in the poem)?

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