A Poison Tree by William Blake

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 watered it in fears,
Night and 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 outstretched beneath the tree. 

William Blake

            Written by William Blake, “A Poison Tree” was published in 1794. The poem was part of the Songs of Experience, the collection of poems that followed (and contrasted) Blake’s Songs of Innocence. The narrator of the poem remains anonymous throughout the length of the poem. By withholding any traits of the narrator, Blake allows the poem to connect with the audience by being able to place himself or herself in the position of the narrator. The poem is a strong representation of the experienced and knowledgeable side of Blake’s poetry. Unlike the innocence that Blake would traditionally associate with youth, the narrator of “A Poison Tree” is in touch with the emotions he experiences. The narrator contrasts two conflicts he has experienced. In one, he told his friend of his anger and so the conflict ended. This conflict serves as a contrast for the second one, in which the narrator chooses not to reveal his wrath to his “foe,” leading to a disastrous result.

In the first line of the second stanza, the narrator mentions watering the wrath “in fears.” The close association of fear and anger is most likely meant to serve as an example of the destructive power they can have when combined in wrath. The narrator “sunned” his wrath “in smiles,” showing that he slowly let the wrath grow within him. He hides it with “deceitful wiles.” The narrator, who previously appeared to be the victim of his anger and fear, now becomes the perpetrator. The wrath can be perceived as the poison from the poem’s title, that is slowly corrupting a previously innocent narrator. This shift follows the traditional transformation presented in Blake’s poetry.

Blake continues the extended metaphor of the wrath’s growth portrayed as a poisonous plant into the third stanza. The narrator’s wrath does not stop growing until it produces an apple. The fruit is important for several reasons. The presence of the fruit means that the plant (and the wrath) have come to the final stage of their growth/ development. Fruits are also representative of sweetness and pleasure, indicating that the poisonous wrath may have corrupted the narrator to the point of enjoyment. The apple is a clear biblical allusion to the story of Adam and Eve. In this case, the apple (representative of the narrator’s wrath) becomes a temptation for his foe. The foe comes for the apple and is apparently killed as a result. It can be inferred that the “foe” was murdered by the narrator. By going back to the first stanza, the audience can see the contrast the author draws between the two conflicts. The conflicts serve as two distinct experiences by the narrator, both of which follow different outcomes of human nature. The first conflict demonstrates that by being open to emotions and communication, one is able to surmount the wrath and proceed with their life. In the second case, however, the lack of connection with his wrath leads to the growth of the apple-bearing “poison tree” and eventually results in the narrator, who was once only victim to his angers and fears, murder another being.