A Poison Tree - A poem by William Blake

William Blake - 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.

Added: on March 18th, 2006 at 8:47 PM | Viewed: 10549 times | Comments (8)

A Poison Tree - Comments and Information
Poet: William Blake Poem: A Poison Tree Volume: Songs of Experience Year: Published/Written in 1789 Poem of the Day on: Aug 14 2004 Comment 8 of 8, added on July 22nd, 2006 at 9:48 AM. the poem,in a beautiful manner, points to a very simple fact of life--that anger when dealt with, just vanishes,but when kept within, grows like a cancer-- the being's entire energy is then directed at plotting the downfall of his foe----and when that objective is accomplished,he derives an almost evil sense of satisfaction nigel dsouza from India Comment 7 of 8, added on April 6th, 2006 at 11:53 AM. learnt this poem at school - stuck in my head every since. the key is that we should never let anger grow within us. dilsiri from Sri Lanka Comment 6 of 8, added on March 18th, 2006 at 8:47 PM. The poem does not describe 'man's true sinful nature' as someone before put. If you looked into William Blake a little more you would find that Blake did not believe that there was any sin. In fact he was opposed to the Church largely because of this reason. The idea of sin is a man made creation, in other words we create this idea of sin to constrain ourselves according to Blake. Jeff from Canada More Comments >> Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, A Poison Tree, has received 8 comments. Click here to read them, and perhaps post a comment of your own. Of course you can also always discuss poems by William Blake with others on the Poetry Connection poetry forum!

Poem Info
A Poison Tree Volume: Songs of Experience Year: Published/Written in 1789 Last read: 2008-09-07 22:16:13 Poem of the Day on: Aug 14 2004 Viewed 10549 times. Added on March 18th, 2006 at 8:47 PM.

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