A Poison Tree Allusions
You can find this storyboard in the following articles and resources:
A Poison Tree by William Blake
Lesson Plans by Bridget Baudinet
”A Poison Tree” was published in William Blake’s 1794 poetry collection entitled Songs of Experience. As the title of the collection suggests, “A Poison Tree” delves into the darker side of the human mind, addressing the catastrophic results of suppressed anger.
Storyboard Description
A Poison Tree Allusions | Have students identify allusions in the poem A Poison Tree
Storyboard Text
- Slide: 1
- APPLE TREE
- The tree that "bore an apple bright" calls to mind the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden. Its fruit, which God forbids Adam and Eve from eating, is traditionally referred to as an apple.
- Slide: 2
- SPEAKER
- The speaker who lures his enemy into the garden and tempts him to eat the apple is like the serpent in Eden. This suggests that the speaker’s anger has filled him with evil and led him to resemble the devil.
- Slide: 3
- FOE
- The speaker's foe is like Adam and Eve. Although they are helped by the serpent, they are still guilty of disobedience. The speaker's foe is not innocent either. He sneaks into the garden and eats the apple without permission.
- Slide: 4
- APPLE
- In the poem, as in Genesis, the fruit represents sin and death. In both cases, the sin is the cause of death.