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Discuss the diction of the poem "A Poison Tree" and explain why certain words are well chosen.
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The diction in "A Poison Tree" by William Blake is well-chosen for its simplicity and rhythmic quality. Blake uses everyday language, such as "angry" and "friend," making the poem accessible to a broad audience. Additionally, the use of iambic meter and intentional rhythm changes enhance the poem's themes and dynamics. Garden-related words like "grow" and "water'd" evoke biblical imagery, adding depth to the poem's meaning.
Diction is the choice of words being used by an author. Obviously any writer is putting words on the page, but that doesn't make it good diction. Good diction takes into account whether or not the word or words being used are right and/or accurate. They also need to be used in the correct context. Finally, diction is important because the word choice can determine whether or not a piece is easily understood or appealing to listen to.
For the poem "A Poison Tree ," I believe the diction is integral to the poem in many ways, but I'll pick two. First, the author's word choice stays simple throughout. The poem uses simple, everyday language. Readers of all ages and abilities are going to be able to understand much of this poem because Blake is using words like "angry" and "friend." The poem simply doesn't get bogged down with...
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difficult to understand, multi-syllabic words.
Second, the diction of this poem is what gives the poem a wonderfully rhythmic feel. Read it aloud to yourself. It's almost impossible not to feel the poem's da DUM da DUM da DUM da DUM rhythm. This alteration of unstressed and stressed beats is called an iambic meter. Blake's word choice is specifically chosen because those words fit (or give) the intended rhythm.
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
That rhythm doesn't necessarily give away information about the poem's meaning until you look at some other lines.
I was angry with my friend.
Notice that this is essentially the inverse of the iambic meter. Blake is very intentional about using the right words to mess with the rhythm because the rhythm changes serve to further enhance the friend vs. enemy dynamic that the poem is about. Friends and enemies are opposites of each other, and that is exactly what the word choice does to the rhythm. It flips it to the opposite rhythm.
Ah, William Blake! One of the most fascinating Romantic Era poets...he is a master of the English language in more ways than one.
As you know, diction is word choice, and for poets, diction is especially important! Words are carefully chosen.
In " A Poison Tree," the references to a garden are everywhere in words like "grow," "water'd," "sunned," and "grow," among others. Also, because of these references to a garden, we can also compare this poem to a famous bible "story": Adam and Even in the Garden of Eden. Some critics have also pointed out that the poem might be a reference to God being angry with mankind (hence the flood that destroyed the Earth, etc.), as well.
The use of couplets throughout the poem (with perfect end rhymes) is also indicative of careful word choice.