A Poison Tree by William Blake

Stanza 1

I was angry with my friend: (line 1)
I told my wrath, my wrath did end. (line 2)
I was angry with my foe: (line 3)
I told it not, my wrath did grow. (line 4)

Stanza 2

And I watered it in fears, (line 1)
Night and morning with my tears; (line 2)
And I sunned it with smiles, (line 3)
And with soft deceitful wiles. (line 4)

Stanza 3

And it grew both day and night, (line 1)
Till it bore an apple bright;(line 2)
And my foe beheld it shine, (line 3)
And he knew that it was mine, (line 4)

Stanza 4

And into my garden stole (line 1)
When the night had veiled the pole: (line 2)
In the morning glad I see (line 3)
My foe outstretched beneath the tree.(line 4)

Line by line Meaning

Stanza 1- I had a misunderstanding with my friend and was angry. I told my friend about my wrath. I got over my anger and forgot it. But when I got angry with my foe, I didn't tell him about it. I bottled up my wrath and it intensified. It grew and grew like a plant.

Stanza 2- My anger grew like a tree. I nourished my anger-tree with anger, suspicion and hatred. I was suspicious of my foe and I was angry with him. But I tricked him to bring him closer to me. Outwardly, I smiled and I was friendly to gain his trust.

Stanza 3- My "tree" was poisonous because it was full of anger, hatred and suspicion. Later, it bore a shiny poison apple. My foe saw it and knew it was mine.

Stanza 4- One night when there were no stars, my foe came into my garden and stole my poison apple. He fell into my trap. He ate the apple and died. In the morning, I was happy to see him lying dead under my poison tree.

Summary of the Poem

In this poem, the persona is angry after a misunderstanding with his friend and his foe. He talks about the misunderstanding with his friend and gets over his anger. But he doesn't talk about his anger to his foe, so his anger increases and grows into an anger-plant.

The persona treats his growing anger like a growing plant. He feeds the seed of his "plant" with anger and hatred. He waters it with doubt, suspicion and hatred and he nourishes it with fake sunshine. He gives his anger-plant "smiles" and "deceitful wiles". Outwardly, the persona smiles and is friendly to his foe so that he will trust him and be close to him. He is scheming to trick and trap his foe. His increasing anger and hatred grows into a poison tree. The poison is actually the persona's wrath and hatred for his foe.

Then the persona becomes spiteful, revengeful and murderous as his anger and hatred intensify. He plots to kill his foe and his devious plan works when his poison tree bears a deadly poison apple. The persona's foe sees it and is tempted to eat it. One dark night, he sneaks into the persona's garden and steals his poison apple. Then he eats it and dies. The next morning, the persona is happy to see him lying dead under his poison tree.

Setting

• Place - in his garden , under the poison tree
• Time - in the darkness of the night , the next morning

Tone

Anger, bitterness and maliciousness- The persona is extremely angry with his foe. As his anger intensifies, he becomes scheming and murderous. In Stanza 4, the tone is also accusing. The persona accuses his foe of stealing his apple in his garden at night.

Themes and Moral Values

1. The importance of communicating when there is a misunderstanding- When there is a misunderstanding, we should talk about it to resolve our differences.
2. Harbouring ill feelings against someone- We shouldn't harbour ill feelings against anyone.
3. Forgiving and forgetting- When there is a misunderstanding, we must forgive and forget.
4. Bottling up ill feelings- Bottling up ill feelings is bad for us and those around us.

Word vs Meaning

• wrath ~ extreme anger
• foe ~ enemy
• watered ~ poured water on plants
• sunned ~ provided sunshine
• deceitful ~ dishonest behaviour to make people believe things which are not true 
• wiles ~ clever tricks a person uses to get what he wants 
• bore ~ produced fruit
• beheld ~ looked at or saw
• veiled ~ covered with something to hide something partly or completely
• pole ~ the Pole star which is the star that is above the North Pole in the sky

What Has Happened to Lulu? by Charles Causley

Stanza 1

 

What has happened to Lulu, mother? (line 1)

What has happened to Lu? (line 2)

There's nothing in her bed but an old rag-doll (line 3)

And by its side a shoe. (line 4)

Stanza 2

Why is her window wide, mother, (line 1)

The curtain flapping free, (line 2)

And only a circle on the dusty shelf (line 3)

Where her money-box used to be? (line 4)

Stanza 3

Why do you turn your head, mother, (line 1)

And why do the tear-drops fall? (line 2)

And why do you crumple that note on the fire (line 3)

And say it is nothing at all? (line 4)

Stanza 4

I woke to voices late last night, (line 1)

I heard an engine roar. (line 2)

Why do you tell me the things I heard (line 3)

Were a dream and nothing more? (line 4)

Stanza 5

I heard somebody cry, mother, (line 1)

In anger or in pain, (line 2)

But now I ask you why, mother, (line 3)

You say it was a gust of rain. (line 4)

Stanza 6

Why do you wander about as though (line 1)

You don't know what to do? (line 2)

What has happened to Lulu, mother? (line 3)

What has happened to Lulu? (line 4)

Line by line Meaning

Stanza 1- The persona, a young boy is asking his mother where his sister, Lulu is. He says there is nothing on her bed except an old rag-doll and a shoe by its side.

Stanza 2- The persona is asking his mother why Lulu's window is open and her money-box is missing.

Stanza 3- The persona asks his mother why she is turning her head away and crying. He asks her again why she crumples and throws the note into the fire and tells him that nothing is wrong.

Stanza 4- The persona wants to know why his mother is saying that the voices and the roar of an engine he heard are just a dream. The roar of an engine implies that his sister, Lulu was driven away in a car.

Stanza 5- The persona heard somebody cry in pain or anger but his mother tells him that it must have been the wind.

Stanza 6- The persona wants his mother to explain why she is confused and what has happened to his older sister, Lulu.

Summary of the Poem

In this poem, the persona is the poet himself as a young boy. He tells us that his older sister, Lulu is missing. Actually she has run away, but when he asks his mother, she doesn't tell him what has happened. He sees Lulu's old rag-doll on her bed and a shoe by its side. Her window is open and her money-box is gone. When he asks his mother why she is crying and burning a note, she says that is nothing. He is puzzled and asks her innocently what has happened to  Lulu, but she is silent. Then he tells her that he heard voices and a car late at night, but she says that he must have been dreaming. Next, he says that he heard somebody crying in anger or in pain, but she explains that it must have been the rain. He is confused. He notices that she is confused too and wants to know what has happened to his sister, Lulu.

Setting

• Place- persona's house 
• Time- late at night

Tone

Puzzlement and Confusion : The boy doesn't understand what is going on. He is confused about his mother's reaction towards the loss of her child. The persona explains what he saw in Lulu's room and he sees his mother crying, but she says nothing us wrong

(Stanza 3). He knows something has happened to his sister, so he tells her that he heard voices and a car in the middle of the night. But she dismisses whatever he has heard as merely a dream. In Stanza 4, his mother is crying and grieving. She is confused too and doesn't know what to do now that she has lost her child, Lulu.

Themes and Moral Values

1. Running away from home- Running away from home doesn't solve our problems.
2. Importance of close family ties- We must have a close relationship with our family members to discuss our problems easily.
3. Coping with the loss of family member- The loss of a family member affects everyone in the family.
4. Love for our family members- We must love our family members.

Word vs Meaning

• wide- fully open
• flapping- making something move from side to side or up and down often making a noise
• crumple- crush something into folds 
• note- a short informal letter
• voices- sounds made through the mouth when speaking
• roar- make a very loud, deep sound
• gust- a sudden strong increase in the amount and speed
• wander- walk slowly around without any sense of purpose or direction