Question

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 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 stretched beneath the tree.

1. what message or theme is blake trying to convey to the reader? include text

evidence to support your answer.

Explanation:

The poem "A Poison Tree" by William Blake conveys the theme that suppressing anger (rather than addressing it) can lead to its growth and harmful consequences.

• Text evidence 1: "I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow" shows that not expressing anger (toward the foe) causes the anger to escalate.
• Text evidence 2: The speaker "watered" the wrath "in fears" with tears and "sunned it with smiles / And with soft deceitful wiles", showing the nurturing of anger through secrecy and deception, leading to the foe’s death (implied by "My foe stretched beneath the tree"). This illustrates how unaddressed anger can become toxic and destructive.

Answer:

The theme is that suppressing anger (instead of communicating it) causes it to fester and become destructive. Evidence: "I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow" (suppressing anger makes it grow); the speaker nurtures wrath with fear, deceit, etc., leading to the foe’s death ("My foe stretched beneath the tree"), showing unaddressed anger’s harmful outcome.