Reflective Paper

William Blake A poison Tree

A poison tree is a symbolic title as it explains truth of human nature. It is a

metaphoric poem as the poet creates a picture in our minds of how anger hidden in
our minds can grow to become a poison tree. The poet describes that a feeling of
anger can disappear if there is goodwill and friendship but if there is distrust
enmity, it grows and causes great distruction. When one is angry with a friend,
and we communicate that anger, I automatically disappears because of love and
friendship but when one is angry with an enemy , it countinues to grow because it
is not expressed. In the first stanza Blake points out that when we're angry with our
friends we usually talk about it and talking about it clears the air, gets it out of our
system, dissipates it. we're not angry any more for Blake anger was often a
positive thing : the energy in nature. The anger in a friendship is often what makes
the relationship alive, as well as comforting with our friends we use our anger, it
moves us forward. With an enemy though we keep our anger to ourselves. We
keep our anger. We nurse it..I n the second stanza the anger has become so strong
that it has developed a separate identity. The anger is now not a feeling about
somebody, the anger is a separate thing with its own existence. Blake knows
exactly how strong feelings separate themselves from the people that they're
originally attached to and become beliefs with a nearly independent existence. Lots
of people have very strong feelings about 'gays', 'blacks', 'muslims', 'women'.
usually the feelings are so strong that the people that have them forget how nearly
all, blacks, muslims, or women are not typical at all: they're all individuals. .... The
tree must have a purpose as well as an existence. In the third stanza the tree
produces a beautiful apple which Blake's enemy sees shining in Blake's garden.
The apple was the trap which god set for adam and eve. He was really uneasy
about the sneaky stuff that god got up to in the garden of eden. Blake knew reality
could be complicated sometimes. In this poem - just like in the garden of eden
story - something evil produces a thing that looks beautiful (the shining apple). We
know it's poison, blake knows it's poison, but blake' s enemy doesn't. Blake's
enemy can only see the beauty. He is greedy and he wants it. The trap is set. Fourth
stanza: blake's enemy burgles the garden at night:
‘’When the night had veiled the pole”
Blake probably means that the night is so dark that you can't see the pole star.
North of the equator the one star that stays fixed in the sky all night long - the one
that the other stars seem to orbit - is the pole star. For sailors the pole star is the
one they navigate by, the one sure thing. but this night is so dark that the one solid
rock, the pathfinder, is hidden. Blake's enemy is completely lost.
Come the morning blake's enemy is dead. he has eaten the poison apple and
collapsed beneath the tree. In one sense blake's hatred has killed his enemy in
another sense blake's god has killed his enemy whichever is responsible blake is
happy ('glad') about this. His poem teaches a moral lesson of great value.
He metaphorically describes how anger can be dismissed by kindness or
nourished to become a deadly poison. I think the message of the poem is
very powerful because it relates to human nature. By not expressing ones
true feeling of anger, it can grow and lead to severe consequences such
as jealousy, vengeance and conspiracy. This is why we should always be
honest and open about our feelings with others.