A Poison Tree by William Blake LO To
A Poison Tree by William Blake LO: To make detailed notes on themes, language and form & structure Starter Task Explain how each of these pictures links to the poem 2 1 4 3 5
A Poison Tree by William Blake LO: To make detailed notes on themes, language and form & structure Themes 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. Anger This poem is about anger. How we deal with anger is very important The first stanza contrasts 2 different ways of dealing with anger and two different outcomes that may occur as a result. Language & Communication This is a warning about what can happen if you do not communicate your feelings. Equally, the poet is communicating this important message to us. Deception The speaker does not speak about his feelings to his enemy and bottles his emotions up. The enemy then sneaks into his garden to steal the fruit. The word ‘stole’ shows that the foe sneaks in & also reminds us that this is an act of theft.
A Poison Tree by William Blake LO: To make detailed notes on themes, language and form & structure Form & Structure 4 stanzas Each stanza = 2 pairs of rhyming couplets Regular repeated pattern of AABB • This straightforward and simple structure contrasts with the very complex human emotions he is describing 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. Iambs (stressed syllables) 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. Iambic tetrameter A stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable (iamb) 4 in each line (tetra) Creates a ‘da DUM da DUM’ rhythm Like a nursery rhyme • Gives the poem a childish feeling – contrasts to the serious adult themes in the poem
A Poison Tree by William Blake LO: To make detailed notes on themes, language and form & structure Language & Imagery All lines in stanza 1 start with ‘I’ • Emphasises this is a personal story told from an individual point of view 7 other lines begin with ‘And’ • Helps the story to build and increase intensity • Resembles a child telling a story The language is very simple 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. All of the words in stanza 1 are monosyllables (only have 1 syllable) except for the word ‘anger’ which is repeated twice • Emphasises emotion and the two different ways the speaker deals with this emotion All of this makes it seem like a children’s nursery rhyme with a serious moral message to convey
A Poison Tree by William Blake LO: To make detailed notes on themes, language and form & structure 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. What poems would you compare this to in the anthology? Think about: • Era • Themes • Imagery • Tone • Viewpoint Poem to compare Reasons Evidence
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