Here's an overview of poem A Poison Tree

1. Literature
Presentation
Presented By:
NIMRA AKRAM

2. Your Logo or Name Here
APoison Tree
By:
William Blake
(1757-1827)
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Theme:
It’s a poem about envy,
anger, revenge, and death. In the
poem, Blake is really indulging and
exploring his darker side, and the
darker side of the human condition
by extension.

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William Blake
Poet Painter Romantic Age
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William Blake was an English poet, painter, and printmaker.
Largely unrecognised during his lifetime, Blake is now
considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and
visual arts of the Romantic Age.
Born : November 28, 1757
Died: August 12, 1827

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And it grew both day and
night.
Till it bore an apple bright.
And my foe beheld it shine,
And he knew that it was
mine.
And into my garden stole,
When the night had veiled
the poles;
In the morning glad I see;
My foe outstretched beneath
the tree.
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Tone of the Poem
• Anger
• Bitterness
• Maliciousness
The persona is extremely angry
with his foe. As his anger
intensifies, he becomes
scheming and murderous. In
last stanza, the tone is also
accusing. The persona accuses
his foe of stealing his apple in
his garden at night.
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Symbolism
• A Growing plant is a Symbol of life.
• The persona’s growing anger is compared to a growing
plant.
• Night is associated with evil.
• In this poem, the act of stealing is committed at night when
the persona foe steals his apple in his garden.
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Summary & Moral
Values
A Poison Tree
• The persona will be forever filled with guilt for harbouring
evil thoughts and committing the murderous act in his own
garden.
• When a person is nourished with evil thoughts and feelings
from young, he will grow up to be violent and full of
misdemeanours.
• If we bottle up our anger, it grows into a ‘Poison Tree’.
• Harmful to us and those around us.
• But death only effects his foe physically. It does not effect
spiritually.
• In friendship, when we have a misunderstanding, we should
be not let our anger grow. We should talk about our ill
feelings and discuss why the misunderstanding happened.
• Forgive and forget – peace of mind.
• Man is corrupted by evil feelings of anger, hated and malice.
• If we can conquer these evil passions, we will be happy.
• Do not nourish anger and hatred against friends and foes.
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8. Thank You
Presented To:
Prof: Kashifa Khalid