“A Poison Tree”

“A Poison Tree” written by William Blake revolves around the truth about human nature which is also the main metaphor of the poem. The poet sets everything about the poem in the opening stanza. For instance, there is termination of anger with mentioning of “friend” to extending the anger with “foe.” Besides, William Blake jumps the clarity of the poem for the readers with the use of metaphors which has an essential role as it applies in several instances in people’s life. The poem has several forms of figurative languages as used by William Blake. The poem, therefore, has several metaphors including forms of communication that help in expressing the feelings and thoughts of the author.

The use of figurative language is influential in the poem and brings the message to the readers and to understand the intention of the speaker. For instance line five to eight in the poem describes how the speaker is in the process of nurturing his anger as he mentions how he watered the trees in fear every night and morning with his tears. He goes further to suggest that the sun the tree with smiles and with the soft deceitful wiles. The description of how the speaker nurtures his anger presents to the viewers that the speaker represents a specific group of people who despite having troubles in life, they go ahead to assume the situation as if everything is okay and smile about it yet they suppress the anger. When their rage later explodes, then they become the ultimate destroyers. Moreover, the title of the poem appears to be contradicting since the poison and a tree have a different role in a person’s body hence could mean a person who seems like a friend while at the same time the person is an enemy.

Moreover, the poem presents the use of rhymes, symbols, and meaning in several examples. The poem is abrupt and disconnects in case a person read it louder. For example, a person listens to an awkward sound throughout the poem. For example, the mentioning of friend and end in stanza one line one and two respectively makes the reader wonder about the ultimate goal of the poem. Rhyme is also present in line three and four; foe and grow makes the reader wonder if it is human nature not top forgive their enemies unlike if they have a misunderstanding with their friends, they tend to forgive quickly.

The poem has a confusing setting as the mention of the tree makes readers conclude that every activity takes place in the garden which symbolizes the human’s mind. It is fed with both positive and negative information hence it is upon an individual to evaluate and make the best choice of having good relationships with friends and forgiving them in case there is any form of misunderstanding. The setting also shifts to a dark scene which represents the foe’s death as a way of forgetting the anger. The speaker aims to eliminate irrational anger in his life hence compares a dark to something he does not wish to experience.

The author also uses a bright and shiny apple on a tree as a symbol of action that occurs as a result of the growing anger. The tree grows and indicates that the speaker’s anger continues to grow until it reaches a point that the speaker wants to be revengeful. The apple is the death of the enemy. In real life situations, people eat the apple that is plucked from the tree, and this means that the speaker finally feels relieved about anger that he has chosen to forget and move forward in life.

The poem aims at teaching the readers the benefits of forgiving both friends and the enemies as holding grudges do not end well. The speaker mentions that he is angry with his friend, but the anger ends with time. As for his enemy, the anger instead grew and ultimately led to the death of the enemy. These two situations represent the consequences of the relationships and failure to forgive one another. Sometimes, it is upon us to avoid making choices that will affect others as well as ourselves. Forgiving is very crucial if a person wants to suppress anger and prevent it from growing as time goes by. Despite being happy for a moment after killing his enemy, there is a high possibility that the speaker will feel remorseful about his actions hence an indication of the consequences of irrational decisions.

From the discussions above, it is essential to conclude the poem has rhymes such as friend and end as well as the foe and grow. William Bake emphasizes on the emotion of anger, and the consequences of different kinds of relationships as the speaker can discuss his anger issues with a friend rather than with his enemy showing the sort of trust that human beings exhibit to their friends. The poem generally communicates in figurative language to allow the readers to understand and attach meaning to it without being bias.

 

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