Question

Read the poem.

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 watered 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 veiled the pole;
In the morning, glad, I see
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.
Question 1

Part A

What can be inferred about the cause of the speaker's wrath?

A. He is angry over an unresolved argument.
B. He lacks good communication skills.
C. He feels distraught over a childhood disagreement.
D. He is jealous over his foe's accomplishments.

Question 2

Part B

Which lines from the poem best support the answer in Part A?

A. "And into my garden stole / When the night had veiled the pole;"
B. "I was angry with my foe: / I told it not, my wrath did grow."
C. "And I sunned it with smiles / And with soft deceitful wiles."
D. "And I watered it in fears / Night and morning with my tears,"

Answer 1

A. He is angry over an unresolved argument.

B. "I was angry with my foe: / I told it not, my wrath did grow."

Step-by-step explanation:

The poem "A Poison Tree" by William Blake revolves around the speaker's unresolved anger. The poem presents two cases where the speaker deals with the anger in him, and what happens if it is repressed.

Part A-

The cause of the speaker's wrath seems to be the unresolved anger he has against a foe which only makes him angrier. On the other hand, the anger he had with a friend was resolved after he let the friend know about it.

Part B-

The lines that support the argument that the speaker's wrath is caused by the unresolved anger are: "I was angry with my foe: / I told it not, my wrath did grow." This shows that the more he represses the anger he had for the foe, the more his anger grew. And the lines go on revealing that he 'cultivated' the anger into an evil weapon that 'killed' his foe.