Discussion Topic
Symbolism of Night and Morning in "A Poison Tree"
Summary:
In "A Poison Tree," night and morning symbolize the persistence and growth of the speaker's wrath. The speaker nurtures his anger "night & morning," allowing it to grow like a tree bearing poisonous fruit. Night, often associated with darkness and evil, represents the environment in which wrath thrives, while morning may symbolize the revelation of consequences. The poem highlights the destructive nature of harboring anger, ultimately poisoning both the speaker and his foe.
What do night and morning symbolize in "A Poison Tree?"
The speaker describes how he bottled up his wrath for his foe. Over time, his wrath increased. In the second stanza, he says he watered it "Night & morning with my tears, / And I sunned it with smiles." He means that he allowed his wrath to grow, day and night. The third stanza continues this notion. His wrath grew into something more. He notes that it grew (metaphorically) into an apple. This metaphor is also an allusion to the fruit which Adam and Eve ate in the Garden of Eden. This is a reference to humanity's "fall" into sin. Blake uses this allusion to connect the speaker's wrath with the wrath that God showed Adam and Eve in this story from the Old Testament.
In the last stanza, "night veiled" the sky. The "pole" possibly refers to the North Star and this means that the "pole" generally means the...
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sky. So, the night is dark and perhaps foggy. It is during the night that his foe crept into the garden, the place where his wrath has grown. Night is often associated with darkness and evil and these are logical symbols that describe the place and time in/during which "wrath" thrives.
The last few lines are a bit ambiguous. If "glad" describes the morning, it would mean that the morning is bright. In this case, he may ("in the light of day") have regret that his wrath has killed his foe. Or, "glad" describes "I," the speaker. And in this case, the speaker is glad to see his foe dead. This is probably the correct interpretation because Blake is condemning one who cultivates wrath: the speaker's wrath as well as the idea of a wrathful God.
What do the word pairs "night/morning" and "day/night" in "The Poison Tree" suggest about the speaker and the poem's meaning?
In William Blake's poem “A Poison Tree,” the speaker identifies his persistence in his anger against his enemy by using the words “Night & morning” and “day and night” in the second and third stanzas.
The speaker’s wrath grows like a tree, and he waters it with his fears and his tears “Night & morning.” He is persistent. He never stops thinking about the harm done to him or his response to it. The darkness of night extends into what should be the brightness of morning.
Therefore, the poison tree of his wrath grows “both day and night.” His persistence in fear and anger takes on a life of its own that also persists at all times. It bears fruit that eventually kills his enemy, who comes into the garden at night (apparently nursing his own desire for vengeance and harm) and is revealed dead in the morning, poisoned by the speaker’s wrath.
The “time” words throughout this poem, then, show the speaker’s unwillingness to let go of his wrath even in the brightness of morning and day. The darkness creeps into his whole life and poisons both his enemy and himself.