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Answer: D

Excerpt from A Poison Tree

William Blake


I was angry with my friend:

I told my wrath, my wrath did end.

I was angry with my foe:

I told it not, my wrath did grow.


And I watered it in fears


Night and morning with my tears,


And I sunned it with smiles


And with soft deceitful wiles.


And it grew both day and night,


Till it bore an apple bright,


And my foe beheld it shine,


And he knew that it was mine,—


And into my garden stole


When the night had veiled the pole;


In the morning, glad, I see


My foe outstretched beneath the tree.


What is the best evidence that the speaker's wrath has severe consequences?

A) The fact that he compares it to a tree in a garden

B) The fact that he forgives his friend but not his foe

C) The fact that he keeps his anger a secret and allows it to fester

D) The fact that his foe has apparently been killed at the end

Respuesta :

Redstart

The best evidence that the speaker's wrath has severe consequences is the fact that his foe has apparently been killed at the end (D).

We are told in the poem, through the garden metaphor, that the speaker lured his enemy close enough (thanks to "an apple bright") to destroy him (I see / My foe outstretched beneath the tree"). What we can guess from this extended metaphor is that:

  • the fruit was likely poisoned, this is why the foe is lying lifeless at the foot of the tree;
  • the act of attracting the foe with a shiny, treacherous object is probably an imagery describing the way the speaker pretended to be nice with his enemy to the point of making him believe he was his friend, until he was close enough to kill him.

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