Analysis of A Poison Tree
In choosing a poem from the English Romanticism era, I found one that particularly stands among others. A poem that had some depth, in that I couldn't understand and feel what the poem was expressing at first glance. It is a poem that had a sense of mystery around it. These characteristics are exceptionally evident in William Blake's poem "A Poison tree." William Blake was a British poet and painter born in 1757 to a father who was hosier. "Anger," "wrath," and "fear" are very prominent in the short sixteen-line piece and engulf you from the start. In this paper, there will be an argument that "A Poison Tree" is a symbol for the lack of restraint and self-control in man. An argument that Blake, if referring to himself in the poem, uses himself as the serpent from the Garden of Eden, except as a serpent with a conscious. The first stanza juxtaposes the idea of friend and foe in a rather elegant way. The stanza reads, "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" (Songs of Experience Pg.38). The contrast in actions relating to a "friend" in distinction to a "foe," is the relevant theme in this stanza. The different ways in which Blake, if he indeed i
Blake realizes that innocence is not just purely good or experience purely evil. In the literary world, such as Dante's Inferno, and more conventional means such as the Bible, it is understood that God is everything. Evidence of this can be seen in third stanza. On the other hand, Blake shows little forgiveness for an enemy. " Knowing that the man whom ate the apple is dead, resolves the dispute of the tree that he ate from. It reads, "And into my garden stole. " It is important to note that Blake's enemy didn't become so by stealing an apple from his tree. From the second stanza alone, it is impossible to make a reference towards what tree is being referred to. It is secure to say that Blake's tree was not an allegory for the tree of life. Overall, I believe that the poem is one of Blake's best works from Songs of Experience. Although Blake uses "A Poison Tree" to point out the lack of self-control and restraint in man, he also shows the tempter, the serpent, with a conscious, which differs from the Bible greatly. Blake was already angry with this man.
Common topics in this essay:
Garden Eden,
Experience Pg,
Dante's Inferno,
Pg39 Blake's,
Experience Pg38,
Pg39 Evidence,
Pg39 Blake,
Poison Tree,
Evidence Blake's,
Adam Eve,
songs experience,
poison tree,
tree evil,
tree life,
garden eden,
songs experience pg39,
beneath tree,
experience pg39,
deceitful wiles,
stanza reads,
third stanza,
wiles songs experience,
tree evil tree,
smiles/ soft deceitful,
sunned smiles/ soft,
|
Acceptance Essays
