Question

HELP PLZ

A Poison Tree

by William Blake

I was angry with my friend:

I told my wrath, my wrath did end.

I was angry with my foe:

I told it not, my wrath did grow.



And I water’d it in fears,

Night and morning with my tears:

And I sunned it with smiles,

And with soft deceitful wiles.



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 veil’d the pole;

In the morning glad I see

My foe outstretch’d beneath the tree.

How does the imagery of the second stanza affect this poem?

Answers:
It helps convey the idea that one can literally water a tree with tears and help it grow with one's happiness.

It suggests that there is no difference between the speaker's "tears" and the speaker's "smiles."

It helps convey the idea that fear and deceit nourish and foster the growth of anger.

It suggests that the speaker is poisoned by his own fear and deceit as his wrath grows.

Answer 1

Step-by-step explanation:

I think your best answer would be C, but D is a good answer as well. this is poetry and it cannot be nailed down by ABC or D. A good case could be made for all the answers, except maybe A.

B for example shows how hypocritical the teller can be. While he smiles and smiles underneath there are the tears of wrath which grows and grows because he does nothing to correct his anger.

D is also true. He does nothing to correct his attitude and so his wrath grows.

C I like C because his lack of courage in speaking up leads him to a place where only anger can grow. The problem is that what he is developing is wrath not anger. There is a difference. Wrath has hatred in it.

I'm going to stick with C, but D is also possible.