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 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.
How does the imagery of the second stanza affect this poem?

It allows the poem's malicious tone to emerge and develop.
It gives the poem an optimistic or upbeat tone.
It imbues the poem with a deeply gloomy or melancholic tone.
It shifts the tone of the poem from serious to comic.

Answer 1

I am literally grinning from ear to ear: This is my FAVORITE poem of all time! I know it by heart!

I'm actually surprised that this is part of your homework as this poem isn't that well known.

Anywho, I'll answer the prompt: How does the imagery of the second stanza affect this poem?

Imagery is a means used by figurative language to represent and propose objects in written works.

Knowing that, let's take a look at the second stanza:

And I water’d it in fears,

Night and morning with my tears:

And I sunned it with smiles,

And with soft deceitful wiles.

The author, William Blake, uses figurative language -- or rather, imagery to represent his wrathful emotions. He "watered it in fears" and "sunned it smiles." He had negative and positive view of his wrath and how it was building up.

He thought deeply about his wrath that would soon grow into an apple after watered by his tear.

If that's the case, then the answer is:

It imbues the poem with a deeply gloomy or melancholic tone.

Blake's poems -- and this poem in particular usually carry an Edgar Allen Poe-y vibe. Gloomy and melancholy. This poem, though may seem malicious, is actually a story of the fear of self. We know it's not optimistic or upbeat because of the obvious diction and negative connotations in the poem. Also, it was a serious poem, but it was not comical -- there is nothing to laugh at in this beautiful written work, therefore, the answer is Choice C:

It imbues the poem with a deeply gloomy or melancholic tone

Answer 2

It allows the poem's malicious tone to emerge and develop.

I took the test.