William Blake was a first generation Romantic poet. He lived a long life in which he wrote a copious amount of poetry (Eaves). Blake was also a painter. This aided Blake’s advancing symbolism; he could paint a lovely picture with his words (Eaves). The poem that I have analyzed is A Poison Tree. Blake strategically placed imagery and personification to hide his underlying truth; do not store up anger because horrible situations will arise. At first glance the poem seems hate filled and that he just wrote it out of revenge or angst, but in reality he is teaching a moral lesson that should be taken very seriously.
Blake’s structure in the poem is interesting in its symbolism. He wrote A Poison Tree in four stanzas. Upon first glance it seems he only did this because it fit his rhyme scheme. With further analysis and in depth understanding, the stanzas symbolize the four seasons of life. The speaker’s emotions of hate and anger also follow the cycle of the seasons.
Spring is a time for youth and immaturity, plants are just a thought. The speaker is angry with his friend, yet they soon overcome this problem. Then the speaker is angry with his foe, he does not tell his foe of this anger so it grows more and more each day (Grimes). Imagery and personification is used throughout the first stanza. When the speaker says “my wrath did end” I got this vivid picture of someone who was turning beat red and had steam coming out of his ears, then it was abruptly cut off and he was happy once again. Then in the last sentence of the first stanza the speaker says “my wrath did grow” this has brought about an image of someone who is so mad yet is stretching at the same time, almost as if to reach the sky, his wrath is taking over.
Summer is...
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...am Blake." Blake Archive. Library of Congress, 13 Sep 2010. Web. 5 Apr 2011.
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Eden, Vivian. "A Poison Tree- William Blake." The Wondering Minstrels, 05 Sep 2002. Web. 5 Apr 2011.
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Grimes, Linda. "William Blake's A Poison Tree." Suite101.com. Suite101, 27 Oct 2007. Web. 5 Apr 2011.
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Moore, Andrew. "Poems by William Blake-Study Guide." William Blake's Poem. © Andrew Moore, 2002-
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Wyatt, Megan. "William Blake's A Poison Tree." Suite101.com. Suite101, 04 Aug 2008. Web. 5 Apr 2011.
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The tree “swings through another year of sun and leaping winds, of leaves and bounding fruit.” This sentence evokes images of happiness and serenity; however, it is in stark contrast with “month after month, the whip-crack of the mortgage.” The tone of this phrase is harsh and the onomatopoeia of a “whip crack” stirs up images of oppression. The final lines of the poem show the consequences that the family accepts by preserving the tree—their family heritage. When the speaker judges the tree by its cover she sees monetary value, but when she looks at the content in the book she find that it represents family. Even though times may be tough for the family, they are united by memories of their ancestors.
Within "A Poison Tree" the poet makes the accusation that if treating enemy as though they were a friend, there would be no anger to hold onto. "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." (Poison 1-4) The central theme of this poem concludes with that the bearer of hate is only weakened and the foe is able to gain solace and comfort from the misfortune of the person they wronged.
Cheng, Ah. The King of Trees. Trans. Bonnie S. McDougall. New York: New Directions, 2010. Print.
The poem “A Poison Tree” by William Blake and the story, “The Cask of Amontillado” written by Edgar Allan Poe writes about revenge. Overall both the poem and the short story share how they developed the overall theme, and to express the act, each of the writings use dramatic irony and sensory
Cheng, Ah. The King of Trees. Trans: Bonnie S. McDougall. New York,NY: New Directions, 2010. Print.
William Blake, was born in 1757 and died in 1827, created the poems “The Lamb,” “The Tyger,” and Proverbs of Hell. Blake grew up in a poor environment. He studied to become an Engraver and a professional artist. His engraving took part in the Romanticism era. The Romanticism is a movement that developed during the 18th and early 19th century as a reaction against the Restoration and Enlightenment periods focuses on logic and reason. Blake’s poetry would focus on imagination. When Blake created his work, it gained very little attention. Blake’s artistic and poetic vision consists in his creations. Blake was against the Church of England because he thought the doctrines were being misused as a form of social control, it meant the people were taught to be passively obedient and accept oppression, poverty, and inequality. In Blake’s poems “The Lamb,” “The Tyger,” and Proverbs of Hell, he shows that good requires evil in order to exist through imagery animals and man.
Blake had an uncanny ability to use his work to illustrate the unpleasant and often painful realities around him. His poetry consistently embodies an attitude of revolt against the abuse of class and power that appears guided by a unique brand of spirituality. His spiritual beliefs reached outside the boundaries of religious elites loyal to the monarchy. “He was inspired by dissident religious ideas rooted in the thinking of the most radical opponents of the monarchy during the English Civil War “(E. P. Thompson). Concern with war and the blighting effects of the industrial revolution were displayed in much of his work.
Southern trees bear a strange fruitBlood on the leaves and blood at the rootBlack bodies swingin' in the Southern breezeStrange fruit hangin' from the poplar treesPastoral scene of the gallant SouthThe bulgin' eyes and the twisted mouthScent of magnolias sweet and freshThen the sudden smell of burnin' fleshHere is a fruit for the crows to pluckFor the rain to gather, for the wind to suckFor the sun to rot, for the tree to dropHere is a strange and bitter crop
In “A Poison Tree,” by William Blake is a central metaphor explains a truth of human nature. The opening stanza sets up everything for the entire poem, from the ending of anger with the “friend,” to the continuing anger with the “foe.” Blake startles the reader with the clarity of the poem, and with metaphors that can apply to many instances of life.
How does William Blake convey his anger in the poem London? The poem 'London' by William Blake, reflects his feelings upon the society that he was living in, and how desperately it needed help. Blake thought that all of the poverty and misfortune that was happening on the streets were caused by the political oppression in London. The.
In “The Tree,” the speaker talks to a tree and express thanks for its “delightful shade” (1). The speaker goes on to talk of the others who benefited from the existence of the tree and gave it something back in return, such as the birds singing, travelers praising it’s welcome shade, and nymphs making crowns from its blooms. The speaker wonders what she can do to repay the shade given her by the tree. She decides to wish something for the tree’s future. She wishes, “To future ages may’st thou stand / Untouch’d by the rash workman’s hand” (19 – 20). Ultimately, she wishes something such as “some bright hearth” (32) be made from the tree at its death.
Blake also uses sound to deliver the meaning to the poem. The poem starts off with "My mother groaned! my father wept." You can hear the sounds that the parents make when their child has entered this world. Instead of joyful sounds like cheer or cries of joy, Blake chooses words that give a meaning that it is not such a good thing that this baby was brought into this world. The mother may groan because of the pain of delivery, but she also groans because she knows about horrible things in this world that the child will have to go through. The father also weeps for the same reason, he knows that the child is no longer in the safety of the womb, but now is in the world to face many trials and tribulations.
The imagery of nature and humanity intermingling presents Blake's opinion on the inborn, innate harmony between nature and man. The persona of the poem goes on to express the `gentle streams beneath our feet' where `innocence and virtue meet'. This is where innocence dwells: synchronization with nature, not synchronization with industry where `babes are reduced to misery, fed with a cold usurous hand' as in the experienced version of `Holy Thursday'. The concept of the need for the individual's faithfulness to the laws of nature and what is natural is further reiterated in `the marriage of heaven and hell' in plate 10 where Blake states `where man is not, nature is barren'. The most elevated form of nature is human nature and when man resists and consciously negates nature, `nature' becomes `barren'. Blake goes on to say `sooner murder an infant in its cradle than nurse unacted desires'. This harks back to `the Songs of Innocence' `A Cradle Song' where the `infants smiles are his own smiles'. The infant is free to act out its desires as it pleases. It is unbound, untainted. Blake's concern is for the pallid and repressed, subjugated future that awaits the children who must `nurse unacted desires' and emotions in this new world of industrialisation. Despairingly, this is restated again in `the mind-forg'd manacles' of `London'. The imagery of the lambs of the `Songs of Innocence' `Introduction' is developed in `the Chimney Sweeper' into the image of `Little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head, that curl'd like a lamb's back, was shav'd'.
“They had passed autumn afternoons when they were nine years old in the hollowed-out base of a cedar tree, where they sprawled on the ground looking out at the rain as it pummeled the sword ferns and ivy. At school they were stran...
LaGuardia, Cheryl. "WILLIAM BLAKE: SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND OF EXPERIENCE." Library Journal 128.9 (2003): 140. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 13 July 2011.