William Blake's A Poison Tree

Symbolism, Meaning, and Possible Interpretation of the Atypical Poem

© Megan B. Wyatt

Aug 4, 2008

William Blake’s poem “A Poison Tree” demonstrates the complexities and analogies buried deep within his poetry. The poem itself is dark and twisted, and most readers would find the poem’s ideas alarming.

"A Poison Tree" Summary

In the beginning of the poem, the speaker tells of his anger toward a friend and a foe and how each differed. With his friend, he expressed his anger and was relieved of it, but with his foe, he did not express it, which fed his fury.

Blake’s speaker continues, describing how he emotionally nourished his wrath, or tree, until an apple grew from it, which his enemy took although he knew it was his. In the end of the poem, the speaker has killed his opponent, and he is not only unremorseful, but also happy and proud. Blake uses a confident and assertive tone, which makes the speaker sound all-powerful and merciless, two ideas feared when combined. Read a further synopsis here.

Interpretation and Symbolism

After reading such an amoral poem, the search for hope or alternate meaning begins. A metaphor lives inside the poem, but instead of making the poem less wicked, the analogy confuses and questions faith.

Symbolically, the speaker represents God, the foe and garden represent Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and the tree represents the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in Genesis. If this analogy is true, it shows God rejoicing in killing his enemies, which most people think the God they know would never do.

Blake’s poem is peculiar even for today’s standards, and his analogy may be ruthless and insensitive, but he does get the reader thinking. By looking further into the poem, we find that the speaker nourishes and feeds his wrath, which symbolically is the tree from the Garden of Eden. Is Blake suggesting that God fed his wrath and anger into the tree and intended for man to eat from it? If so, He is creating a world doomed to His wrath and anger, an idea just about anybody would shutter at.

Possible Reasoning

Is this really what Blake believes, or is he only trying to open the minds of his readers? We probably will never know whether Blake’s beliefs were this jaded, but we can explore his purpose in writing “A Poison Tree” by thinking and questioning instead of shutting out the disturbing idea of a coldhearted God.

By thinking back to childhood when our brains were hardwiring for life, most of us recall learning of a loving God whose love never failed, even in the most grotesque and horrifying biblical passages.

Remember Noah and the ark told to children in an almost fairytale-ish manner? As children, we learn mostly of a God who saves His creation and of His promise never to destroy creation again because what child could bear the thought of their “father” destroying nearly all of his children who are his beloved creation?

The actual story would be bloody, brutal, and bottomless in questions, so most teachers and mentors package it and tie a pretty ribbon around it. What ever happened to not judging a book by its cover or a package by its wrapping?

Searching Blake’s poem through questioning faith and supposed truths instead of accepting spoon-fed stories and rules of society can lead to growth in our spirituality, strength, and intelligence.

A Poison Tree

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