The Garden of Love and A Poison Tree by William Blake

The Garden of Love and A Poison Tree by William Blake

William Blake’s poems “The Garden of Love” and “A Poison Tree”, both

of them belonging to the collection “Songs of Experience”, share

resembling style and structure. Even though their plots might appear

different, they both have religious background and deal with nature

and carry a message of similar tenor, criticism of repression of human

emotions.

One of Blake’s characteristics is the use of simple wording and

uncomplicated language that can be explained on different levels. Both

of these poems are narrated in first person, like stories about

experiences, creating an impression of personal connection. By using

various images Blake illustrates abstract concepts in physical means

and with help of hidden clues he effectively expresses his criticism.

In the poem “The Garden of Love” the “Chapel” with “shut…gates”,

“priests in black gowns” and “briars” represent the church, while in

the poem “A Poison Tree” it’s the “apple” and the “poison tree”,

apparently standing for the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden,

that gives the reader an indication of Christian religion.

While both poems express criticism of suppression, each of them

discusses a different area. The poem “The Garden of Love” deals mainly

with repression of “joys and desires” by the church. The speaker in

this poem returns to the Garden of Love and instead of freedom and

natural view of love he finds “a chapel …built in the midst” and

“priests in black gowns” who bound his “ joys and desires…with briars”

(The Garden of Love). It is worth noting that the lettering “Thou

Shalt not” written “over the door” of the new built “Chapel” (The

Garden of Love) might refer to the 95 theses nailed to the door of

Wittenberg church by the German religious reformer Martin Luther.

Both poems deal with the topic about nature. In the “Garden of Love”

the “sweet flowers”, representing all the pleasant joys of love, were

replaced by cold and lifeless “graves” and “tombstones” whereas in the

poem “A Poison Tree” a hateful “apple” was born to poison the “foe” of