2016-

And I waterd it in fears,

Night & morning with my tears: 
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles. 

REFERENCE
(i) Poem: A Poison Tree
(ii) Poet: William Blake

CONTEXT
The speaker is presenting two scenarios here. In the first, he (we're assuming it's a he) is in a tiff with his
friend, a spat if you will. But wait! There's no need to fret. He told his friend about his anger and… guess
what? His anger went away. Presto! Ah, the power of communication.
In the second scenario we get the same basic set-up here. The speaker's mad again, but this time he's mad
at his enemy. Will he follow the same route? You bet your bippy he won't. He keeps mum about his anger
for his enemy and, well, that anger just grows. The speaker's anger is only heightened by his fears, and his
continued deception about his true feelings.

EXPLANATION
The speaker talks more about how his anger grows. Using figurative language, he treats this anger very
much like a plant. A plant needs water and sun in order to grow, and so apparently does his anger.
He watered it with his "fears" and his "tears" and made sure it got plenty of sunshine.
Now, we know that the speaker didn't give his anger-plant real sunshine. Instead, he gave it "smiles" and
"deceitful wiles." These are more like "fake" sunshine.
They help the plant to grow—like real sunshine would for a real plant..
A wile is a "crafty, cunning, or deceitful trick." "Deceitful wiles," then, are super-deceitful tricks (or
really, really cunning traps). The speaker suggests that he is a very deceptive person and that he is
planning something very sinister and mischievous. Whatever it is, though, his anger seems to dig it, since
those deceitful schemes are like sunshine to it. 
A growing plant is usually a good, positive thing, a symbol of life. It seems ironic that a growing plant is
being compared to a growing anger. Is anger a good thing in the world of this poem?

2015-

Beneath them sit the aged men wise guardians of the poor
Then cherish pity, lest you drive an angel from your door

REFERENCE
(i) Poem: Holy Thursday
(ii) Poet: William Blake

EXPLANATION
The beadles (wardens), under whose authority the children live, are eclipsed in their aged pallor by the
internal radiance of the children. In this heavenly moment the guardians, who are authority figures only in
an earthly sense, sit “beneath” the children.
The final line advises compassion for the poor. The voice of the poem is neither Blake’s nor a child’s, but
rather that of a sentimental observer whose sympathy enhances an already emotionally affecting scene.
But the poem calls upon the reader to be more critical than the speaker is: we are asked to contemplate the
true meaning of Christian pity, and to contrast the institutionalized charity of the schools with the love of
which God—and innocent children—are capable.