the poison tree

The poem comes out of the pain of experience. The obvious moral of this poem is that hidden wrath becomes more dangerous behind the deceit that hides it from its object. Possibly, the “Friend” mentioned in the first stanza is a friend simply because the speaker respects him enough to voice his anger face to face, whereas the “enemy” may be a potential friend who remains an enemy because the speaker keeps his wrath secret and nurtures it. There is a touch of irony, however, in that the poem ends with the speaker’s gladness over his foe’s death by poison. No final line refutes the secret nurturing of wrath, and in fact, the poem may be read as a guide for taking vengeance upon one’s enemies.