Dsyharrelson · 24 March 2003

Can anyone tell me what is meant in the 4th stanza, “when the night had veiled the pole;”
I am a bit lost on what he is referring to…any suggestions would be great, thanks

crazyy99 · 21 April 2003

The line in William Blake’s A Poison Tree, when he says “When the night had veiled the pole”, Pole means sky, so he means, when the night covered the sky or when the sky got dark.

Daeton Chang · 22 May 2003

Hi. I’m doing a worksheet for my english class that deals with the poem A Poison Tree. The poet’s name is William Blake.I don’t really understand what the poem is about. I’ve read the poem over and over but I still don’t understand what it means. Could you please give me a in-depth summary of each stanza? Thank you very much.

Sincerely, Daeton

Clem Byard · 27 August 2003

Hi Vivian,
You say this poem sees: “Man is crueller than the God of Genesis and inflicts death rather than banishment from Paradise.” Blake seems to say in some of his other poems that there is no other God apart from the one we meet in other people. Also I think I see death and banishment from paradise as the same thing, something along the lines of Milton with “the fruit of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste brought death into the world, and all our woe….” Regards, Clem B.

CIPRIANO BARBOSA · 20 December 2003

I would really appreciate if someone could briefly explain each stanza in its entirety. Thank you!

CIPRIANO BARBOSA · 20 December 2003

I am also doing a paper on The Poison Tree, but don’t really understand it.

Jasper Gilmour · 27 April 2004

Stop trying to get your work done for you, no one is going to explain the whole poem for your.

Jeesper Gilmoor

Greg Patterson · 7 July 2004

hey jeesper. stop being an asshole. I bet that person was kind of upset that you told them that they don’t deserve any help. They were just trying to understand the poem. Now go make yourself feel more intellegent, go to every poetry website you can find where people are looking for help and leave comments similar to: “ no! of coarse you cannot recieve help on the internet! how dare you! certainly you don’t understand because you are not like I, who has an unfathomable capacity to interpret every piece of literature known to man. without any help of coarse.” I’m sure they will all reconsider their motives for using online poetry comment boards, taking into consideration how strongly you disagree with their methods of gathering information. Now have a fabulous day, go fall off a cliff.

kleeyong · 4 August 2004

Lol! Greg is funnie!! Anyway, I’ll try to help, but I’m only 15, n it might not b very good…
In the first stanza, Blake tells us that when he told his “wrath” – the person he was angry with, his friend- that he was angry with him, they resolved the issue, and his anger dissipated. However, he could not do the same with his foe, keeping his anger a secret, hiding it under a façade of indifference. Hence, his wrath grew, as a seedling into a tree, the feeding on his hatred and fear, thriving in his hypocrisy, “And I sunned it with smiles, and with soft deceitful wiles.” and vicious thoughts. As it was nurtured with “poisonous” intentions, it became “a poison tree” as in the title. After manifesting itself into a tree, his wrath bore a seemingly harmless fruit- the apple. This apple was, “bright”, having an attractive “shine” and tempting his foe. His foe then crept into his “garden” without the poet’s knowledge-“ And into my garden stole. When the night had veiled the pole”- and probably ate this poisonous “apple”, the full power of this vicious, repressed anger unleashed with the every bite, overwhelming the foe.

Sophia (Hotmail) · 13 August 2004

Hi. Im also doing a project on this poem. I have to say why he wrote it. Can anyone tell me why?

Sophia Chan · 13 August 2004

hi. im also doin a project on this poem and i hav 2 say why he wrote it. could anyone tell me why?

Tracey Hector · 26 August 2004

Hi I don’t understand the metaphorical language used in the poem. Did his foe eat his anger, or the “apple”? Why would he want his anger?-Lauren

Trudi Moirson · 27 August 2004

Hi Lauren,
The apple used in this poem is a physical manifestation of the narrator’s anger and hate. It is a way for him to harm his foe or ‘get payback’ without it being direct or obvious so that he can kill his foe without any one knowing. Or at least lure his foe into his trap. regards Milly.
oh, and to everyone else out there who keeps adding things on here that are just plain nasty can you please stop. There is no point we are all here for the poetry not to argue. And thanks to all those people who are willing to help because its you who will help the rest of us pass. You have to give a little to take a little.

Adams · 16 September 2004

Hi Trudi. After reading this poem, I must say that I disagree with your interperetation of this poem. The apple does not symbolize some sort of passive-agressive way to get back at the writer’s enemy. Rather, it it an explosion of all the hate and anger built up inside him. It could not have been indirect, and it was certainly obvious, for the writer must have made direct contact with his enemy in order to kill him.

Louise Birkemose · 28 January 2005

Well, let me see if I can interpret this poem. I am Danish, so bear with me if my writing has flaws. Okay. First Stanzy obviously say that this guy is angry with his friend. He talks with his friend about it and his wrath ends. They talk about the problem. Woohoo, good for them! However, you can’t walkways have anice chat with your foe, and this is the same. He’s probably too proud to talk with his foe about it, and as such his wrath and hatred grows in him.

2nd stanza: He says he watered it in fear and so on. This is most likely mentally happening. Every time he thinks of this foe he feels sad, and then angered. We can pretend his hatred is a seed. His tears are water and his cold words and smile to his foe is the sun. That’s how you grow a little tree. Woohoo, good for him!

3rd Stanza: So now the little seed grows to a tree. He waters it and suns it and it grows and grows. The apple represents, perhaps, the last action or word ever made or uttered. The tree is in such case mental. In him. We can also say that the tree exist, in the backyard or whatever, and our man poison the first apple, knowing that his foe will do much to harm our little man.

4th stanza: And here we have our ending. The foe can be killed with an action, or if it really was a tree in the garden he would’ve been killed by the apple. It’s all very methaphoric. The foe enters the garden when the sky is dark, meaning it’s night, and steals the apple. He eats it and next morning our man finds him under the tree, outstretched.

You could also say that this apple that the foe steals is our man’s girlfriend. You can interpret this in so many ways. Now I’m off to interpret other poems, because I don’t have a life. Woohoo!

Aida · 3 February 2005

the apple in the poem is suppose to signify the fruit of his anger. What happens when you hold in anger too long? it grows….. so it signifys that his anger gave fruit and it was the apple

FirstDarkAvenger · 9 February 2005

The meaning to this poem? Not sure but I think its about not storing your anger. Try resolving it with words not hate

anfoto98 · 13 March 2005

will someone please explain to me what exactly the poem means. i know what the first stanza is but i am kind of confused about the last 3.. someone please help!! *Dani

TOMIAN HAR · 8 April 2005

thank you all for these precios comments . they were so helpful for me . and i would like to add somethig about the “garden” : what is it ? is it the heart ? the feelings ?the whole negative emotions which gives the tree the power and the suitable environment to grow up and for the app;e to bear?

M Murphy · 2 July 2005

in answer to Dani’s question - anfoto98@. there’s no exact way of explaining EXACTLY what this poem is about as its all open to interpretation, if it helps here’s my view of it!!

1st stanza: two different situations. first - what happens when anger is adressed, the problem is solved. second - what happens when anger is left to “grow”, it gets BAD! in this case it manifests itself into the physical form of an apple (as trudi moirsen said)

2nd stanza: the watering, sunning etc appears to be the bitter emotion that builds up, in other words, the care and time one would put into growing a plant/tree.

3rd and 4th stanza: the “foe” steals the fruit, i feel this could be symbollic of the sin of jealousy maybe provocation. the “veiling” of the pole again implies sin or deceit. and the “outstretched foe” is the narrator’s revenge, though death isnt actually mentioned, we are led to believe this is the case.

there are of course 100s of other deeper meaning, some delving a little too deep. hopefully thats helped you, ive only scratched the surface feel free to carry on…

tomian har - odaaa@
again more than one interpretation, liking yours. Could one draw parallels to the biblical story of the garden of eden? sorry if this has been mentioned already, have not read all comments hope ive helped anyone
TOM

_Oritsegbemi_E._Jakpa_ · 28 January 2006

The Poison Tree, by William Blake, copied below is a clean example of how anger can develop, degeneratively, if unexpressed for too long, and leads to and end-product of extremes unreasonable outbust of feelings that almost always cuases a sad effect. But in this case the writer was glad – last but one line tells us this. We should not forget that the apple – means any one can eat it –, hence friends and foe are equally prone to either by direct or transferred wrath. I still believe anger of this nature can be creatively transferred to places like love, writing, … Obviously his foe my think what he did is harmless.

Jakpa, Oritsegbemi Emmanuel
133 King House
Du Cane Road
London

Debby · 6 May 2006

Hey.I kinda get all the things happening in the poem.but how does the foe die.
cuz the tree is practically made by all his anger.and therefore so is the apple.
so if the foe got it and ate it.technically.how did he die??…but the poisonous venomous words?
..or wot? lol

Trimaran · 15 June 2006

Here’s my literal translation of the poem. In case you need a transcription, like I do!
Good luck!

Transcribed version

I was mad at my friend:
I told him my anger, I was no longer angry.
I was mad at my enemy,
I didn’t tell him, I got angrier.

And I gave it water, in fears,
All day long, with my tears,
And I gave it sun by smiling,
And with little tricky lies.

And it grew all day long,
Until it produced a shiny apple;
And my enemy saw it shine,
And he knew it was mine,

And he went into my garden,
When night had turned the sky black:
In the morning I was happy to see
My enemy laying underneath the tree

Greetings, Elise from Holland

Neil Fleischmann · 29 July 2006

I think the line about the pole being veiled is a poetic way of saying night when one pole of the earth is darkened.

Neil Fleischmann
EarthLink Revolves Around You.

Mic · 2 October 2006

Wow brilliant poem and i have a few indeas on the meaning…it says to resolve your anger for anger in the human heart only grows with time and attention. As your anger towards someone gets worse he wants to spite you and you want to show to the world what you’ve got to make you better than your foe (in the poem it is simbolized by a shining apple). Your foe then breaks into your life (the garden) and tries to steal from you that one thing that you have that makes you better, but in the end he is only spiting himslef! Thus if you live in anger or try to spite someone it would end in tragedy!

TEO Karen · 21 May 2007

Wow… seems like there’s a lot of meanings to this poem.

Anyway, this site has really been a great help to me.

I have a literature assignment on this poem too.

You guys are really good!

Helenmary Jarrott · 2 October 2007

The aspect of this poem that confuses me (and which hasn’t been resolved by any of the comments I’ve read) relates to the end of the poem. If (as so many people seem to feel) the theme of the poem is that it’s better to deal with anger that to let it fester - why is the outcome of the supposedly ‘negative’ response (feeding and watering his anger and letting it fester) presented as a postivie occurrence (In the morning glad I see My foe stretch’d out beneath the tree)? If the moral of the story is: Don’t let anger grow - why isn’t the poet the one who dies from the fruit of the poison-tree he has nurtured within? To me, the moral outcome of the story does not suggest that allowing the poison-tree to grow and bear fruit has been a bad thing for the poet. It has enabled him to be revenged on his enemy, albeit indirectly (because his enemy has stolen the fruit) rather than directly by giving his enemy the fruit… Can someone enlighten me in my confusion???

Joel McCoy · 23 October 2007

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Can anyone tell me what is meant in the 4th stanza, “when the night had veiled the pole;”
I am a bit lost on what he is referring to…any suggestions would be great,
Thanks

The “pole” is referring to the tree that is hidden by the night so that the thief could come and take his apple.

Anthony Coulthard · 20 January 2008

Hey Everybody, I’m pretty sure that the speaker’s foe in this poem was actually himself, as he was unable to conquer his emotions, so he eventually committed suicide to terminate his suffering.

Shahin Islam · 6 April 2008

wow the more you think about this poem the harder it gets

jparmenter · 22 April 2008

Pole means polemics which is arguement or dispute

Helga · 9 May 2008

The first two sentences state a complete truth of how true friends behave. If you are angry with a friend, because of the friendship you are sincere and tell him your feelings, which they are well taken. Among friends is easy to be frank and that is welcome so to continue the friendship. But if you are angry with a person who is not your friend, you keep that anger to yourself. It is natural that if not cleared the situation it shall grow and grow without limits, because it is watered and nourished with other unfriendly feelings even thou you have to hide them, maybe for social reasons. The apple is just a symbol of a grown anger disguised by hypocrisy that may lure and fool the enemy so he may be trusty. He is so fooled that he tries to get closer and intimate, but oh, he finds his own death when he gets that close. That is my interpretation. I studied this poem at College in my younger years and it impressed me deeply. I have experienced the truth of said poem.

Helga