First Quatrain

On first contact with “A Poison Tree,” a reader may be deceived by the apparent simplicity of the poem. It seems like one more example of the children's verses and nursery rhymes that had become popular and were being published in the later part of the eighteenth century. The most famous collection was the one attributed to “Mother Goose.” Such verses were intended to teach children moral lessons through easy-to-remember rhymes and catchy rhythms.

“I was angry with my friend; / I told my wrath, my wrath did end,” Blake begins. The language and sentiment are simple and hardly need to be explained even to a young child. Someone is speaking of his direct experience: He was angry at his friend. He told his friend that he was angry, and the result was that his anger went away. The whole thing is presented in a neat package...