A Poison Tree

Question 1

Context

Answer 1

.Focuses on nature as a destructive and powerful force and human emotions
.Anti-establishment figure
.Loved the Bible but hated Church of England: allusion to the Book of Genesis
.From Songs of Experience - book about adulthood

Question 2

Form

Answer 2

.Regular rhyme scheme
.Regular alternating rhythm
.Four quatrains
.All three of the above are consistent like his anger
.Sounds like a nursery rhyme: moral message

Question 3

Structure

Answer 3

.First person
.End-stopped lines
.Caesura
.Anaphora/ enjambment/ volta in final stanza

Question 4

Quotations

Answer 4

.“I was angry with my foe” – Conflict / Suppressed emotions
.“Bore an apple bright” – Deception / Temptation / Evil
Biblical allusion (Tree of Knowledge), shows the growth of inner hatred.
.“My foe outstretched beneath the tree” – Violence / Consequences of unresolved anger
.“And I sunned it with smiles” – Manipulation / Concealed hostility
Presents how people may hide malice behind politeness.
.“Till it bore an apple bright” – Growth of anger / Corruption over time
Metaphor for how emotions intensify when unspoken.