The Serpent Inside of Us

Human beings, along with the ability to reason and question, possess the capacity to hate, and yet also to forgive. Unfortunately, forgiving someone is not always as easy as holding a grudge against them, and this lack of control over one’s actions is inherent to human disposition. In many of his poems, William Blake critically observes human nature and its different aspects, but in “A Poison Tree”, he specifically discusses human weakness and the …

…death. The “serpent” in Blake is his weakness, and just like he, all humans have this inherent flaw inside of them. Adam and Eve's lack of control and self-restraint led them to eat from the Tree of Knowledge, and “the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked” (Genesis 3:7). This shows human beings’ imperfection, and how time and time again they are susceptible to the consequences of human weakness.