"A Poison Tree"; A Lesson Plan

I use the poem, "A Poison Tree". I took the poem together with some of the ideas about teaching
it from the "RICH" anthology and teacher's guide; created by Dr. Ora Zohar with Arleen
Eidelman, Susan Haber and Aviva Pinchuk.(Published by The Ministry of Education/Hebrew
University) I would like to thank Dr. Ora Zohar for her permission to use the material.

Look at the following cartoon.

(source of cartoon; unknown)

What do you see? What do you think the cartoon is trying to say?
(If you need help, look at the questions below the cartoon)

Who do you think is in each picture?

What emotions are being expressed in each picture?

What do you notice about the size of the characters in each picture?

Which picture is very different than the others? In what say?

There are two kinds of violence shown in this cartoon - what are they?

What is the relationship between the two types of violence.

After you study the poem, "The Poison Tree", see if you can find a connection between
the cartoon and the poem.

A POISON TREE
(from songs of Experience -1794 )
by William Blake
I was angry at a friend:
I told my wrath, my wrath did end.
I was angry at a 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.

Have them circle all the "it"s in the poem. (There are 7). and identify them. They will find that
"it" is the wrath, but it is pictured metaphorically first as a plant, then as a tree, then as a fruit,
and finally as a poisoned fruit.
Have the kids try to explain why each of these metaphors is appropriate for "wrath". They'll
come up with great ideas. Among things I've heard:

It grows, gets bigger and bigger

Wrath doesn't grow on its own.. we nurture it. (discuss how we nurture it.. how do
we "water" it, etc.)

When a plant is small, it is easy to cut down - but once it becomes a tree, it is hard
to chop down.

When a plant is small, it requires nurturing. However,a tree does not require
nurturing. So it is with hate. At first, we nurture it, but eventually it becomes so strong
that it doesn't require any nurturing - it has a life of its own.

Some kids notice the similarity to the Garden of Eden. The fruit can be discussed
as temptation. (In what way is violence and hatred "tempting"?)

It bears fruit, in the sense of, it has real consequences. What begins as an emotion
turns into action, and brings about a real result - death.
[I think that is the main point of the poem.]
IMPORTANT NOTE:
This is the connection between the poem and the cartoon. In both, an emotion becomes
eventually leads to real consequences in the world. In the cartoon, the emotion is
expressed as verbal violence which eventually leads to physical violence.

We discuss the negative effect of the wrath on both parties. The victim, (not entirely a victim - he
stole into the garden and wanted the fruit because it was mine), and the person who spends his
life hating and whose only joy is seeing the downfall of his enemy.
Focus on the first stanza:
We discuss what ISN'T in the first stanza. The reason for the wrath. Why isn't the reason for the
wrath mentioned?

Very likely it was something trivial, and unimportant. (Many of our conflicts in life are
over trivial matters. Think of some of the recent violence that has erupted over such
"important" matters as parking places, etc.)

Often, a fight develops, and after a while we can't even remember how it began.

I also like to point out that the "friend" and the "enemy" might have done the same thing!
What is different, is how "I" reacted. In other words, the difference between an "friend" and
an "enemy" is not always in how they treat us but in how we perceive and treat them! [I'm
not talking about an enemy that is out to kill you-but in the context of our kids, and in our
lives - why are some people included in "our group" while others are rejected? Are the ones
who are rejected really "bad", -is there behaviour any different from the "popular" kids?]

Focus on the second stanza:

What are the emotions that are associated with hatred? What is the connection between
hatred and sadness (tears) and between hatred and fear? And what kind of "joy" does the
personae feel in life. (Only the "joy" of planning revenge!)
Focus on the third stanza:
If you have not done so yet, discuss the image of a fruit as a symbol for temptation. In what way
is hatred "tempting". Also discuss the idea of spite; the fact that the foe wanted the fruit because
it was mine. Notice, often, when siblings fight over a toy, sibling A doesn't really want the toy he/she just doesn't want sibling B to have it. Discuss whether this is also sometimes true of
adults.
Focus on the fouth stanza:
Why does the final act take place at night? Discuss how atmosphere is created in literature.
(night/day, rain/sun, etc.) Also, what does the word "pole" add? (Discuss the idea of
"polarization" - people who hold very divergent points of view, or extreme points of view, and
who feel alienated from each other as a result).
The name of the poem.
Students were asked to think about the name of the poem. Return to this question in light of what
they have learned. Why did the poet juxtaposition the word "poison" to the word "tree"? One
nice idea is that hatred turns situations that have a potential for good into something bad.
Some of the kids are upset at "lack of logic" in the poem. They start saying, "Come on. How can
an imaginary fruit kill anybody." In the past, I had to go into a long explanation of how literature
is "allowed" to blur the distinctions between fantasy and reality. Today, I just have to say two
words; "X-Files". (or is that one word?) At any rate, the idea that negative emotions that are not
dealt with properly can lead to consequences in the real world is grounded in fact.
There is plenty of room for follow-up activities. The kids can write about experiences which
relate to ideas in the poem; for example, a case in which they "told their wrath", etc.
I hope the kids enjoy the lesson. You can post any reactions or interesting ideas on the homepage
bulletin board.