William Black's "poison tree" theme seems simple (angry), but it is not so. Instead, the theme is a way to control people's anger and actually make them grow bigger than before. Black proposed an Old Testament allegory of Christianity, similar to the story of the Garden of Eden, indirectly revealing his patience, self discipline and gentle theme.
The original title of this poetry in his poem "The Book of Songs" is "Christian Patience". From his own experience, Black says secretly hiding others' anger is only to make them farther until they destroy them. So say Enotes:
The theme of 'poison tree' is not anger itself, but how to control anger leads to cultivation of anger. According to "Poisonous Tree", instead of admitting it by exposing it, filling the anger, turn anger on the germinating species. Anger grows into a powerful destructive force by breeding the species nourished by the energy of angry people.
William Blake's allegory poem "poison tree" is focused on the subject of anger. The poet 's speaker revealed to his friends that he was angry and that his anger had disappeared. However, when the speaker conceals his anger against the enemy, anger grows like a tree. The fact that trees are "poison" tells us that by ignoring or suppressing anger we are also poisoned. An apple that appears in an angry tree symbolizes a toxic effect. The last line is ominous; the speaker gives a warning to the joy of "the enemy spreading under the tree" and tells us what happens when we suppress anger. When we ignore or deny our feelings, we become bad, painful, and even revenge.
The hidden theme of "poison tree" is that the God of the Old Testament is God of anger, jealousy, jealousy, and deception. Black presented this theme in poetry by implying a depraved story of Genesis. The tree in Black's poem is for the reader to remind the tree of good and evil. Brilliant apples represent nuts, and God prohibits Adam and Eve from eating. The garden stolen by enemies symbolizes the Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve act confidentially, not following God. The attitude of the speaker himself should be understood to reflect the attitude of God. By expressing the poet 's speaker in a form that reminds me of God, black shows to God that he is not a god of love but a cruel god.
Many students think that it is useful to review Adam and Eve's Bible story to fully understand "poison tree". This poem contains many hints from Genesis Chapter 3. In the story, Adam and Eve eat from the taboo knowledge tree. Adam and Eve ate tree nuts and did not obey God, so I got new knowledge, which was expensive. Because of their first crime they were expelled from the Garden of Eden and lost the peaceful and immortal life they led there. Instead, they face pain and eventual death. The knowledge that Adam and Eve gained by eating fruit was a kind of knowledge that deprived of peace and innocence they knew before. In this way, their story reflects Black's emphasis on 'songs of experience'. Experiences like fruit may cause pain or even death. Students fascinated by "poisonous tree" will further discuss the devastated nature of mankind in this metaphorical tree and the black poet "Holy statue".