A Poison Tree

With tears and smiles

Step 1: In the second stanza, Blake describes how the speaker fed his anger. Step 2: Lines 5-6 state 'And I water'd it in fears, Night and morning with my tears'. Step 3: Lines 7-8 continue 'And I sunned it with smiles, And with soft deceitful wiles'. Step 4: The metaphor shows anger being nourished like a plant - watered with tears (sadness/fear) and given sunlight through false smiles and deceptive tricks.

Tricks

Step 1: The glossary provided with the poem defines 'wiles' as 'tricks'. Step 2: In line 8, 'soft deceitful wiles' refers to gentle but deceptive tricks or cunning methods. Step 3: The word 'deceitful' before 'wiles' confirms that these are dishonest or tricky actions. Step 4: This shows how the speaker used cunning and deception to hide his true feelings while plotting against his enemy.

At night

Step 1: In lines 13-14, Blake writes 'And into my garden stole When the night had veil'd the pole'. Step 2: 'Veil'd the pole' means covered the pole-star, which happens during the night. Step 3: The word 'stole' suggests secretive movement, which is typical of nighttime activities. Step 4: Night provides cover for the foe to secretly enter the garden to take the tempting apple.

He died

Step 1: In the final lines, Blake writes 'In the morning glad I see My foe outstretch'd beneath the tree'. Step 2: The glossary defines 'outstretch'd' as 'lying dead'. Step 3: The foe is found lying dead under the tree, presumably after eating the poisonous apple. Step 4: The speaker's gladness shows the successful completion of his revenge through the deadly fruit of suppressed anger.