A Poison Tree by William Blake

Literature

Grade 7

BEFORE YOU READ

Do you know anyone who really, really annoys you? Somebody who, no
matter what they do, always manages to get under your skin? Maybe it's a
friend who does little things to aggravate you, or perhaps it's a sibling who
always listens to their music too loud when you're trying to hang out with
friends or insists on taking the front seat of the car all the time.
Type I Writing: Write about a person (no names please) that really annoys
you. What does he/she do? How do you respond? Have you ever found a
solution to make the problem better? Write at least 6 lines, please.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________*
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

When instructed to do so, please turn to your partner and share

your response.
Work Cited
1
Shmoop Editorial Team. "A Poison Tree." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 20 Feb.
2014.

A Poison Tree by William Blake

Literature

Grade 7

Have you ever noticed that when you talk to them reasonably about what
they're doing that makes you angry, everything becomes much simpler? If
you don't say anything, though, your anger just festers and grows, and
grows, and makes you more miserable by the minute. There's a good
chance that you're familiar with this experience, and it is this experience
that William Blake's poem discusses, though in a more gruesome fashion.
1. Read the poem twice once aloud and once to yourself.
2. Summarize each stanza in the margins.
3. Mark up the poem for poetic devices.
a. Rhyme Scheme label each stanza with letters.
b. Metaphors Green or Blue highlighter
c. Symbolism What does the apple symbolize? What does the tree
symbolize?
d. Theme What is the message of this poem? What is the author
trying to tell us?

A Poison Tree
BY WILLIAM BLAKE

I
I
I
I

was angry with my friend;

told my wrath, my wrath did end.
was angry with my foe:
told it not, my wrath did grow.

And I waterd it in fears,

Night & morning with my tears:
And I sunned it with smiles,
And with soft deceitful wiles.
Work Cited
2
Shmoop Editorial Team. "A Poison Tree." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 20 Feb.
2014.

A Poison Tree by William Blake

Literature

Grade 7

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 veild the pole;
In the morning glad I see;
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

Now, we admit, sometimes it's easier just to walk away. But sometimes a
confrontation is in order. If we refuse to talk to people about what they're
doing that is bugging us, we're the ones who really suffer; we, essentially,
"water" and "sun" (in Blake's terms) our anger until it blossoms into a
poisonous apple. Granted, growing a poison apple with nothing but hate is a
pretty unlikely scenariowell, it's actually impossiblebut it's really an
extended metaphor for how destructive anger can be. Sure, it won't turn
into an apple that will kill your enemy, but it can become something equally
destructive.
Just think: there have been many troubled people who have "snapped" and
gone on to do something just as destructive. In a sense, Blake's poem urges
us (you included!) to talk about our anger and frustrationsnot just with our
friends, but with our enemies as well. Perhaps this can, at the very least,
ease our internal trouble and prevent us from harming others.
Discussion Questions: Be prepared to talk about these questions by
writing down some of your ideas and thoughts about each one. These are
questions that have no right or wrong answer its your point of view, but
please be sure you can give reasons for your answers.
1.

Why do you think Blake chose an apple rather than, say, a pomegranate, or
an orange?
_____________________________________________________________________________
Work Cited
3
Shmoop Editorial Team. "A Poison Tree." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 20 Feb.
2014.

A Poison Tree by William Blake

Literature

Grade 7

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
2.

Would you teach Blake's poem to your children in order to teach them about
anger? Why or
why not?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

3.

Why does the enemy want to eat the speaker's apple? Why is it so
attractive?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
4. Who is to blame for the enemy's death (if you agree that he's died in
the poem)?
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Work Cited
4
Shmoop Editorial Team. "A Poison Tree." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 20 Feb.
2014.

A Poison Tree by William Blake

Literature

Grade 7

_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

Work Cited
5
Shmoop Editorial Team. "A Poison Tree." Shmoop.com. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 20 Feb.
2014.