The Poison Tree
Poem written by William Blake
Theme:
Don't try to hide your emotions or they will get worse. The author developed the theme by the first paragraph. It says, "I was angry with my foe/ I told it not, my wrath did grow." This shows that he didn't express the fact that he was angry, and his anger expanded.
Poetic Devices:
A. "I told _____, my wrath did _____."
This form of repetition in the 2nd and 4th lines show this different outcomes of what he did.
B. Rhyme- AABBCCDDEE...
This helps the poem flow better and have a rhythm.
C. "I waterd it in fears"
This helps to expand the metaphor between anger and a tree to show how anger can grow.
D. "I sunned it with smiles"
This is additionally part of the extended metaphor to show that faking happiness can actually make anger grow.
Speaker:
The speaker's attitude towards dealing with anger is to let it all out. He/she thinks that you should not keep your emotions to yourself. Furthermore, we know that he once was angry with a friend, told him,and felt better about it.
Colors/images:
I chose the color blue for the title and the background image because both show the mood, which is cold. In this poem, there is a mysterious tree that grows poisonous apples and eventually kills the enemy. Death shows a cold mood, in this case, and blue is a cold color (hence ice).