It has been fixed. Sadly, too many sites offer the interpretation that it is somehow about either 1. self-hatred or 2. a lesson about how we shouldn’t let our hatred get out of hand because it hurts others. What's your thoughts? A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. For instance, apple depicts his vengeance; tree depicts his loss of patience, underneath which he kills his enemy, etc. All the cool artists had emotional problems and loneliness – Vincent Van Gogh is another example. A Poison Tree uses metaphor, antithesis and biblical associations to highlight the self-damage that can proceed from suppressing anger. A Poison Tree was individually published in the London University Magazine, in the year 1830. In the third line, the poet says that he sunned his anger with smiles and soft deceitful wiles. But wait! However, the poet does not even wish to wait for the justice of Karmas; he wishes to put an end to his vengeance by murdering his enemy on his own; and so he does. He forced himself to keep it hidden from his enemy and would use to make fake smiles in front of him. Presto! As in the first, second, third and fourth line of the poem’s first para, you can see ‘friend’ and ‘end’, both at the end of their respective lines, rhyme, and likewise does ‘foe’ and ‘grow’. I was angry with my friend; I told my wrath, my wrath did end. SparkNotes is brought to you by Barnes & Noble. And it grew both day and night, In deceptively simple language with an almost nursery-rhyme quality, the speaker of the poem details two different approaches to anger. Honestly it’s hard to say, really. Please support this website by adding us to your whitelist in your ad blocker. Thank you for pointing this out. I really relate to him in this poem. I repeat, it is talking about the NORTH STAR when it refers to a pole xoxo poetry gal, Yeah that was one of my theories that he was referencing the North Pole. But I think clearly Blake is saying it’s fine, hence the word “glad” about the enemy being dead. There seems to be some debate that he could be INFJ too, but he is too bold in the things he says for getting revenge, just like in “Poison Tree.” I think INFJs would be too nice in these situations and maybe not go as far as to revenge so harshly. I was angry with my friend: I told my wrath, my wrath did end. Haha I love it. It was published in the year 1794 in his collection of Songs Of Experience, which talks about various emotions of humans. I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow. And I watered it in fears Night and morning with my tears, And I sunnèd it with smiles And with soft deceitful wiles. At first, he may have tried to forget about all that has been caused to him, but with the growing time, the hatred in his heart developed and he kept dwelling in the same vengeance. The poet gets deep from here. Ads are what helps us bring you premium content! Both the books were later brought together and published under the title of Songs Of Innocence And Experience, Showing The Two Contrary States Of The Human Soul: The Author And Printer, W.Blake. The poet is making a confession in this stanza of A Poison Tree – it is he, who is solely responsible for the hatred that has grown in his heart for his enemy. The darkness of the night acted like an invisible cloak for the poet. Thus the bright apple is not good but a symbol of something bad and quite harmful. Scenario #2: We get the same basic set-up here. If an INFP is angry, it’s going to be because a person has done a great injustice to others and probably deserves the revenge coming for him. Although he was not very much recognized during his time, he turned out to be posthumous. within the other poems from the conflict anthology what can this be compared to? Now, he says that he once got angry with his enemy and couldn’t tell him about it. Please continue to help us support the fight against dementia. I think I am a decent human being (as an INFJ) but I am totally opposed to niceness, having seen too much of the pain and suffering that causes to those who are. In the first, he (we're assuming it's a he) is in a tiff with his friend, a spat if you will. He has forgiven his friend, but he hasn’t and will never forgive his enemy for the wrongs that he has done and the hurt he has caused to him. He has made sure that he doesn’t forget all the wrongs that he has been done, because he has suffered enough due to his foe. I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow. However, on the other hand, he was angry over his enemy too but because he never told him about it, the anger kept growing in his mind against him (enemy). Finally, the feeling of anger has shaped up and now he can do anything to make his enemy suffer and pay for his Karmas. Every single person that visits PoemAnalysis.com has helped contribute, so thank you for your support. The speaker is presenting two scenarios here. I am sick of reading analyses that put it down to self-hatred or a warning not to let things get out of hand. In fact, the vengeance simply grows. Thanks for writing this interpretation of Blake’s poem! The poem A Poison Tree by William Blake is about the ill and corrupted effects of anger. I see niceness as an affliction. A Poison Tree Summary. The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience). You can get in touch with the site publisher via the contact page of the website. The poet clearly says that he has himself not forgiven his enemy, even though he could. I can’t even remember what I am on that test! Something to do with extroverted, creative type…I try not to box myself though .