“A Poison Tree” makes a number of allusions to the biblical story of Adam and Eve, told in Chapter 3 of the book of Genesis. Understanding the connections between elements of Blake’s poem and the biblical story will help students read the poem on a deeper level. To guide their comprehension, students can set up a storyboard identifying elements of “A Poison Tree” that allude to the Genesis story. Below each storyboard depiction, students should explain the allusion’s connection to the poem’s message.
For a variation of this assignment, have students use storyboards to identify and explain the poem’s metaphors instead of its allusions. Students can depict the intended meaning of the following words and phrases: “waterd it in fears”, “sunned it with smiles”, “apple”, “apple tree”, “garden”.
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.
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.
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.
In the poem, as in Genesis, the fruit represents sin and death. In both cases, the sin is the cause of death.
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Student Instructions
Create a storyboard illustrating different allusions in "A Poison Tree".