A Poison Tree Poem By William Blake ( Style, Theme & Symbolism)

Here's an overview of poem A Poison Tree

1. Literature Presentation Presented By: NIMRA AKRAM

2. A Poison Tree By: William Blake (1757-1827) 2 Theme: It’s a poem about envy, anger, revenge, and death. In the poem, Blake is really indulging and exploring his darker side, and the darker side of the human condition by extension.

3. William Blake Poet Painter Romantic Age 3 William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age. Born :  November 28, 1757 Died :  August 12, 1827

4. 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 poles; In the morning glad I see; My foe outstretched beneath the tree. 4

5. Tone of the Poem Anger Bitterness Maliciousness The persona is extremely angry with his foe. As his anger intensifies, he becomes scheming and murderous. In last stanza, the tone is also accusing. The persona accuses his foe of stealing his apple in his garden at night. 5

6. Symbolism A Growing plant is a Symbol of life. The persona’s growing anger is compared to a growing plant. Night is associated with evil. In this poem, the act of stealing is committed at night when the persona foe steals his apple in his garden . 6

7. Summary & Moral Values A Poison Tree The persona will be forever filled with guilt for harbouring evil thoughts and committing the murderous act in his own garden. When a person is nourished with evil thoughts and feelings from young, he will grow up to be violent and full of misdemeanours. If we bottle up our anger, it grows into a ‘Poison Tree’. Harmful to us and those around us. But death only effects his foe physically. It does not effect spiritually. In friendship, when we have a misunderstanding, we should be not let our anger grow. We should talk about our ill feelings and discuss why the misunderstanding happened. Forgive and forget – peace of mind. Man is corrupted by evil feelings of anger, hated and malice. If we can conquer these evil passions, we will be happy. Do not nourish anger and hatred against friends and foes. 7

8. Thank You Presented To: Prof: Kashifa Khalid