Government College University Faisalabad

Course Title: Comprehensive and Composition Course Code: ENG-322

Course Instructor: Mr. Syed Ali Waqar Hashmi

Lecture No. 1
1.1 Importance of Note Taking
Taking notes is an important part of the life of every student. There are many reasons why note-
taking is important: When you are reading or listening, taking notes helps you to concentrate and
comprehend the subject matter. In order to take notes - to write something sensible - you must
understand the text. As listening and reading are interactive tasks, taking notes help you make
sense of the text. Taking notes does not mean writing down every word you hear; you need to
actively decide what is important and how is related to what you have already written. Notes
help you to maintain a permanent record of what you have read or listened to. This is useful
when revising in the future for examinations or other reasons. Good notes should be accurate,
clear and concise. They should show the organization of the text, and this should show the
relationship between the ideas.

Note taking keeps your body active and involved and helps you avoid feelings of drowsiness or
distraction. Listening carefully and deciding what to include in notes keeps your mind actively
involved with what you hear. As you take notes, you’ll decide on and highlight the key ideas you
hear, identifying the structure of a class presentation. You’ll also be able to indicate the
supporting points of a presentation, making study and understanding easier after class. Such
organized notes also make it easier for you to link classroom learning to textbook readings.

1.2 Note Taking Methods

1.2.1 The Outline Method

This method is used for simplicity and is one of the easiest methods of taking notes. Anyone can
pick up this method and use it with no issues. When using this method, the idea is to select four
or five key points that are going to be covered in a specific lesson. Under those key points, you
write more in-depth sub-points based on what is being discussed on those topics. The idea with
this form of note taking is so it doesn’t overwhelm you. But you’ll pay attention in a different
manner. In the case of this approach, if you know what’s being discussed, you’ll focus on the
important aspects of that topic rather than wonder what’s coming up next.

Use this method in cases where:

 You want your notes to be organized from the start.

 To see the relationships between both topics and subtopics
  To convert the points into questions to quiz yourself later

1.2.2 The Cornell Method

This is the most common note taking method. In fact, the outline method is likely inspired by
this method. The ‘Cornell Method’ has been designed for classroom note taking and it includes
post-processing. The Cornell method is probably the most useful method for students at
university. It was devised by Walter Pauk. He was lecturer in Cornell University in the United
States. This method is used by dividing the paper in two columns. The first column is used to
enter key or cue words while the second is the notes column (for recording ideas and facts).
There are six steps to Cornell note-taking:

Record: During the lecture, record as many facts and ideas as possible in the notes column.

Reduce: After the lecture, read through the notes taken and reduce to key words and phrases, or
questions. The key words and phrases are used as cues to help recall the ideas and facts. The
questions are to add clarity to the facts and ideas.

Recite: Using only the key words, phrases and questions in the cue word column recite the ideas
and facts in the notes column. It is important that you are not just mechanically repeating, but
using your own words.

Reflect: Based on the facts and ideas learnt, reflect upon how this fits in with what you already
know, and how this knowledge can be applied.

Review: On a frequent basis, review your past notes by reciting and reflecting upon them.

Recapitulate: After you have reduced, recited and reflected upon your note, you should
recapitulate each main idea using complete sentences at the bottom of the key word column.

1.2.3 Mind Mapping Method

Mind mapping is a method that works for subjects that have interlocking topics or complex and
abstract ideas. Chemistry, history, and philosophy are examples where this method shines. The
use of the map is to serve as a visual aid for how every topic is related to one another. It also
allows you to go into detail on particular ideas or topics. You can start off with broad general
ideas and during the course or when you are reviewing, you can add in sub-concepts to those
branches. Things like dates, support facts, concepts that you see between people and events. The
example below shows a map of “what should I study in college?” The writer connected the
favorite subjects to the main idea. Art and English are connected to favorite subjects to show that
they are related.
1.3 Note Taking Tips
Uses of Phrases: Write phrases, not full sentences. Only record the key words that you need to
get the idea of the point. Skip words like “the” and “a” that don’t add additional meaning to the
lecture content. Retain key technical or discipline-specific terms.

Usage of Personal Vocabulary: Take notes in your own words. Paraphrase what you hear so it
makes sense to you—it helps you to understand and remember what you hear. Try to paraphrase
everything except where information needs to be noted exactly.

Using Headings: Structure your notes with headings, subheadings and numbered lists. Use
headings to indicate topic areas or to include bibliographic details of the sources of information.
Use outline form and/or a numbering system and indenting to help you distinguish major from
minor points and as a clear way of indicating the structure of lecture information.

Coding: Code your notes—use color and symbols to mark structure and emphasis.

Using Colors: You can use colors to highlight major sections, main points and diagrams. You
can also use different colors to classify and link concepts or information by topic. However,
don’t focus too much on color coding when you’re in the lecture. It requires time and
concentration, so it’s more useful to do most of the highlighting and underlining when you’re
revising your notes later.

Underlining: Underline, circle, star, etc. to identify key information, examples, definitions, or
other important materials. Devise your own marking code to indicate each type.
Key Words: If you miss something, write key words, skip a few spaces, and get the information
later. Leave a space on the page for your own notes and comments.

Usage of Symbols and Abbreviations: Symbols and abbreviations for frequently used words,
phrases or names are useful for note taking in lectures when speed is essential. It’s important to
be consistent so you remember what they represent and can use them easily. Keep a ‘key list’ of
frequently used symbols/abbreviations and their meanings so that you can refer to them in the
future.

Using Maps and Diagrams: Information can also be recorded using a concept map or diagram.
Try drawing diagrams or pictures for concepts that are hard to note quickly. For instance, draw a
pie chart to roughly indicate the relative strength of political parties in an election instead of
writing these details out. Information can be added to the concept map later.

 Concept maps can easily become cluttered.

 Use both facing pages of an open A4 notebook to set out your concept map and allow
plenty of space for adding ideas and symbols.
 Begin in the middle of the page and add ideas on branches that radiate from the central
idea or from previous branches.
 Arrows and words can be used to show links between parts of the concept map.
 Color and symbols are important parts of concept maps, helping illustrate ideas and
triggering your own thoughts.

Lecture No. 2
2.1 Passage Comprehension
A comprehension test is based on a short passage or article. A student who has to answer the
comprehension questions has to understand and grasp the meaning of the passage or article. The
understanding power and level of the student is evaluated in a comprehension test. Hence it is
important for students to read the comprehension carefully first and then only answer the
questions. The passage or article has to be understood perfectly well before questions are
answered.

2.2 Instructions
• Read With Extra Care

While reading instructions, always take extra care. At times, the questions are tricky leading the
student to misunderstand or miss out important points. Consider the context of the answer first.
All questions which you know should be answered first. You can eliminate questions you are not
too sure about.

• First Read the Questions

Make it a habit to go through the questions first. This will help you to look for relevant answers
while reading the passage. Process of fetching answers can be hastened by doing this. If the
passage is read first and then the questions, the chances of losing time are more as you will be
reading everything again.

• Check Marks Allotted To Each Question

There is no point in dedicating too much time on a question that is worth very few marks. Make
sure that questions with more marks are answered first and then quickly finish off the ones with
the least marks.

• Allocate Appropriate Time

You will have to note down the time required for answering every question and accordingly stick
to that time, so that all the questions can be attempted in due time.

• Highlighting Keywords

Once you have read the questions and have started reading the passage, make sure you highlight
any headings, phrases, keywords etc that can help in answering the questions. This method will
help you to save a lot of time rather than searching through the passage again.

• Avoid Copying Text Directly

While writing down the answers you should not copy chunks of text directly.

• Review What You Have Written

To check for avoidable mistakes you must review the paper again at least twice once you are
done with answering the questions. If sentences have to be reframed or corrected, then this can
be done. In case of answering multiple choice questions, and in case of doubt, importance to
reviewing must be given.

• Use Quotation Marks Wherever Necessary

Quotation marks will have to be used if at all you will be making use of quotations from the
passage. This also carries marks, so make sure you don’t forget the quotation marks.

• Avoid Using Any Knowledge From Outside The Passage

Make sure the comprehension is read at least twice. While answering the questions, the answers
have to be from what is given in the passage itself as out outside knowledge is not entertained in
a comprehension. Avoid any answer that is not supported by relevant information from the
passage or article or they will be rendered as incorrect.

If these few important points and techniques are kept in mind then you will surely be able to
attempt the examination and comprehension well and in the process score good marks.

Lecture No. 3
Practice Through Reading Material

3.1 Passage - 1
Philosophy of Education is a label applied to the study of the purpose, process, nature and ideals
of education. It can be considered as a branch of both philosophy and education. Education can
be defined as the teaching and learning of specific skills, and the imparting of knowledge,
judgment and wisdom, and is something broader than the societal institution of education we
often speak of.

Many educationalists consider it a weak and confused field, too far removed from the practical
applications of the real world to be useful. But philosophers dating back to Plato and the Ancient
Greeks have given the area much thought and emphasis, and there is little doubt that their work
has helped to shape the practice of education over the times.

Plato is the earliest important educational thinker, and education is an essential element in "The
Republic" (his most important work on philosophy and political theory, written around 360
B.C.). In it, he advocates some rather extreme methods: removing children from their mothers'
care and raising them as wards of the state, and differentiating children suitable to the various
castes, the highest receiving the most education, so that they could act as guardians of the city
and care for the less able. He believed that education should be holistic, including facts, skills,
physical discipline, music and art. Plato believed that talent or intelligence is not distributed
genetically and thus is to be found in children born to all classes, although his proposed system
of selective public education for an educated minority of the population does not really follow a
democratic model.

Aristotle considered human nature, habit and reason to be equally important forces to be
cultivated in education, the ultimate aim of which should be to produce good and virtuous
citizens. He proposed that teachers lead their students systematically, and that repetition be used
as a key tool to develop good habits, unlike Socrates' emphasis on questioning his listeners to
bring out their own ideas. He emphasized the balancing of the theoretical and practical aspects of
subjects taught, among which he explicitly mentions reading, writing, mathematics, music,
physical education, literature, history, and a wide range of sciences, as well as play, which he
also considered important.

During the Medieval period, the idea of Perennialism was first formulated by St. Thomas
Aquinas in his work "De Magistro". Perennialism holds that one should teach those things
deemed to be of everlasting importance to all people everywhere, namely principles and
reasoning, not just facts (which are apt to change over time), and that one should teach first about
people, not machines or techniques. It was originally religious in nature, and it was only much
later that a theory of secular perennialism developed.

During the Renaissance, the French skeptic Michel de Montaigne (1533 - 1592) was one of the
first to critically look at education. Unusually for his time, Montaigne was willing to question the
conventional wisdom of the period, calling into question the whole edifice of the educational
system, and the implicit assumption that university-educated philosophers were necessarily wiser
than uneducated farm workers.

3.1.2 Questions
Q1. What is the difference between the approaches of Socrates and Aristotle?

Q2. Why do educationists consider philosophy a ‘weak and woolly’ field?

Q3. What do you understand by the term ‘Perennialism’, in the context of the given
comprehension passage?

Q4. Were Plato’s beliefs about education democratic?

Q5. Why did Aquinas propose a model of education which did not lay much emphasis on facts?

3.1.3 Solutions
Q1. What is the difference between the approaches of Socrates and Aristotle?

1)Aristotle felt the need for repetition to develop good habits in students; Socrates felt that
students need to be constantly questioned

2)Aristotle felt the need for rote-learning; Socrates emphasized on dialogic learning

3)There was no difference

4)Aristotle emphasized on the importance of paying attention to human nature; Socrates

emphasized upon science

Ans1. The first option is correct – their approaches were different and this difference is quite
explicitly explained in the fourth paragraph
Q2.Why do educationists consider philosophy a ‘weak and woolly’ field?

1)It is not practically applicable

2)Its theoretical concepts are easily understood

3)It is irrelevant for education

4)None of the above

Ans2. The first option is correct because educationists believe that philosophical abstractions are
not suitable for practical application.

Q3.What do you understand by the term ‘Perennialism’, in the context of the given
comprehension passage?

1)It refers to something which is of ceaseless importance

2)It refers to something which is quite unnecessary

3)It refers to something which is abstract and theoretical

4) It refers to something which existed in the past and no longer exists now

Ans3. The first option is correct because the term comes from the root word ‘perennial’ – which
means ceaseless.

Q4.Were Plato’s beliefs about education democratic?

1)He believed that only the rich have the right to acquire education

2)Yes

3)He believed that only a select few are meant to attend schools

4) He believed that all pupils are not talented

Ans4. The second option is correct – Plato’s beliefs were democratic but not his suggested
practices

Q5.Why did Aquinas propose a model of education which did not lay much emphasis on
facts?

1)Facts are not important

2)Facts do not lead to holistic education

3)Facts change with the changing times

4)Facts are frozen in time

Ans5. The third option is correct – facts do change with the changing times, hence, they are not
of the utmost importance when aiming for holistic education.

3.2 Passage 2 - Dolphins

Dolphins are regarded as the friendliest creatures in the sea and stories of them helping drowning
sailors have been common since Roman times. The more we learn about dolphins, the more we
realize that their society is more complex than people previously imagined. They look after other
dolphins when they are ill, care for pregnant mothers and protect the weakest in the community,
as we do. Some scientists have suggested that dolphins have a language but it is much more
probable that they communicate with each other without needing words. Could any of these
mammals be more intelligent than man? Certainly the most common argument in favor of man's
superiority over them that we can kill them more easily than they can kill us is the least
satisfactory. On the contrary, the more we discover about these remarkable creatures, the less we
appear superior when we destroy them.

3.2.1 Questions
1. It is clear from the passage that dolphins ----.

A) don't want to be with us as much as we want to be with them

B) are proven to be less intelligent than once thought

C) have a reputation for being friendly to humans

D) are the most powerful creatures that live in the oceans

E) are capable of learning a language and communicating with humans

2. The fact that the writer of the passage thinks that we can kill dolphins more easily than
they can kill us ----.

A) means that they are better adapted to their environment than we are

B) shows that dolphins have a very sophisticated form of communication

C) proves that dolphins are not the most intelligent species at sea

D) does not mean that we are superior to them

E) proves that Dolphins have linguistic skills far beyond what we previously thought

3. One can infer from the reading that ----.

A) dolphins are quite abundant in some areas of the world

B) communication is the most fascinating aspect of the dolphins

C) dolphins have skills that no other living creatures have such as the ability to think

D) it is not usual for dolphins to communicate with each other

E) dolphins have some social traits that are similar to those of humans

3.3 Passage - 3
Many great inventions are initially greeted with ridicule and disbelief. The invention of the
airplane was no exception. Although many people who heard about the first powered flight on
December 17, 1903 were excited and impressed, others reacted with peals of laughter. The idea
of flying an aircraft was repulsive to some people. Such people called Wilbur and Orville
Wright, the inventors of the first flying machine, impulsive fools. Negative reactions, however,
did not stop the Wrights. Impelled by their desire to succeed, they continued their experiments in
aviation.

Orville and Wilbur Wright always had a compelling interest in aeronautics and mechanics. As
young boys they earned money by making and selling kites and mechanical toys. Later, they
designed a newspaper-folding machine, built a printing press, and operated a bicycle-repair shop.
In 1896, when they read about the death of Otto Lilienthal, the brothers’ interest in flight grew
into a compulsion.

Lilienthal, a pioneer in hang-gliding, had controlled his gliders by shifting his body in the desired
direction. This idea was repellent to the Wright brothers, however, and they searched for more
efficient methods to control the balance of airborne vehicles. In 1900 and 1901, the Wrights
tested numerous gliders and developed control techniques. The brothers’ inability to obtain
enough lift power for the gliders almost led them to abandon their efforts.

After further study, the Wright brothers concluded that the published tables of air pressure on
curved surfaces must be wrong. They set up a wind tunnel and began a series of experiments
with model wings. Because of their efforts, the old tables were repealed in time and replaced by
the first reliable figures for air pressure on curved surfaces. This work, in turn, made it possible
for the brothers to design a machine that would fly. In 1903 the Wrights built their first airplane,
which cost less than $1,000. They even designed and built their own source of propulsion-a
lightweight gasoline engine. When they started the engine on December 17, the airplane pulsated
wildly before taking off. The plane managed to stay aloft for 12 seconds, however, and it flew
120 feet.
By 1905, the Wrights had perfected the first airplane that could turn, circle, and remain airborne
for half an hour at a time. Others had flown in balloons and hang gliders, but the Wright brothers
were the first to build a full-size machine that could fly under its own power. As the contributors
of one of the most outstanding engineering achievements in history, the Wright brothers are
accurately called the fathers of aviation.

3.3.1 Questions

1. The idea of flying an aircraft was ______ to some people.

(a) boring

(b) distasteful

(c) exciting

(e) needless

2. People thought that the Wright brothers had ______.

(a) acted without thinking

(b) been negatively influenced

(c) been too cautious

(d) been mistaken

(e) acted in a negative way

3. The Wrights’ interest in flight grew into a ______.

(a) financial empire

(b) plan

(c) need to act

(d) foolish thought

(e) Answer not available

4. Lilienthal’s idea about controlling airborne vehicles was _________ the Wrights.

(a) proven wrong by

(b) opposite to the ideas of

(c) disliked by
(d) accepted by

(e) improved by

5. The old tables were _________ and replaced by the first reliable figures for air pressure
on curved surfaces.

(a) destroyed

(b) invalidated

(c) multiplied

(d) approved

6. The Wrights designed and built their own source of _________.

(a) force for moving forward

(b) force for turning around

(c) turning

(d) force for going backward

Enlightenment Age Romantic Age

They followed the poetic rule strictly They do not follow the rule strictly
They addressed the issues of royal family They addressed the issues of common people
Very rich diction was used Common language was used by romantic poets
Representation of Elite class Representation of working class
They were influenced by French Revolution
Poetry should be logic based Imaginative and freedom of thought

Literature is an imagined alternative of life. Whatsoever we

cannot do in our real life we can do in literature.

Conflict

Revelation

Inner conflict … Outer conflict

WHEN THESE CONFLICTS COLLAPSE WITH EACH OTHER,
THIS THING PROVOKES A POET TO COMPOSE POETRY.

Lecture No. 4
William Blake: A Romantic Poet

4.1 Blake’s Introduction

William Blake was an English poet, engraver, and painter. A boldly imaginative rebel in both his
thought and his art, he combined poetic and pictorial genius to explore life. William Blake
worked to bring about a change both in the social order and in the minds of men. Though in his
lifetime his work was largely neglected or dismissed, he is now considered one of the leading
lights of English poetry, and his work has only grown in popularity. In his Life of William Blake
(1863) Alexander Gilchrist warned his readers that Blake “neither wrote nor drew for the many,
hardly for works’-day men at all, rather for children and angels; himself ‘a divine child,’ whose
playthings were sun, moon, and stars, the heavens and the earth.” Yet Blake himself believed that
his writings were of national importance and that they could be understood by a majority of his
peers. In addition to being considered one of the most visionary of English poets and one of the
great progenitors of English Romanticism, his visual art work is highly regarded around the
world.

Blake was born on November 28, 1757. Unlike many well-known writers of his day, Blake was
born into a family of moderate means. His father, James, was a hosier, and the family lived at 28
Broad Street in London in an unpretentious but “respectable” neighborhood. In all, seven
children were born to James and Catherine Harmitage Blake, but only five survived infancy.
Blake seems to have been closest to his youngest brother, Robert, who died young in 1787.
Blake claimed that Robert communicated with him in visions. It was Robert, William said, who
inspired him with a new method of illuminated etching.

4.2 Early Life

By all accounts Blake had a pleasant and peaceful childhood, made even more pleasant by
skipping any formal schooling. As a young boy he wandered the streets of London and could
easily escape to the surrounding countryside. Even at an early age, however, his unique mental
powers would prove disquieting. According to Gilchrist, on one ramble he was startled to “see a
tree filled with angels, bright angelic wings bespangling every bough like stars.” His parents were
not amused at such a story, and only his mother’s pleadings prevented him from receiving a
beating. His parents did, however, encourage his artistic talents, and the young Blake was
enrolled at the age of 10 in Pars’ drawing school. The expense of continued formal training in art
was a prohibitive, and the family decided that at the age of 14 William would be apprenticed to a
master engraver. At first his father took him to William Ryland, a highly respected engraver.
William, however, resisted the arrangement telling his father, “I do not like the man’s face: it
looks as if he will live to be hanged!” The grim prophecy was to come true 12 years later. Instead
of Ryland the family settled on a lesser-known engraver, James Basire. Basire seems to have
been a good master, and Blake was a good student of the craft. After his father death in 1784,
Blake set up a print shop next door to the family shop. In August 1782 Blake married Catherine
Boucher, who had fallen in love with him at first sight. He taught her to read and write, and she
later became a valued assistant. His "sweet shadow of delight," as Blake called Catherine, was a
devoted and loving wife.

One incident at this time affected Blake deeply. In June of 1780 riots broke out in London incited
by the anti-Catholic preaching of Lord George Gordon and by resistance to continued war
against the American colonists. Houses, churches, and prisons were burned by uncontrollable
mobs bent on destruction. One evening, whether by design or by accident, Blake found himself
at the front of the mob that burned Newgate prison. These images of violent destruction and
unbridled revolution gave Blake powerful material for works such as Europe (1794) and
America (1793).

4.3 Early Works

When he was twenty-six, he wrote a collection entitled Poetical Sketches. This volume was the
only one of Blake's poetic works to appear in conventional printed form—he later invented and
practiced a new method. Blake used his unique methods to print almost all of his long poems. In
1787, Blake composed Songs of Innocence (1789) as the first major work in his new process,
followed by Songs of Experience (1794). The magnificent lyrics in these two collections
carefully compare the openness of innocence with the bitterness of experience. They are a
milestone because they are a rare instance of the successful union of two art forms by one man.

4.4 Days of Betrayal

Blake spent the years 1800 to 1803 in Sussex working with William Hayley, a minor poet and
man of letters. With good intentions Hayley tried to cure Blake of his unprofitable enthusiasms.
Blake finally rebelled against this criticism and rejected Hayley's help. In Milton (1800–1810),
Blake wrote an allegory (story with symbols) of the spiritual issues involved in this relationship.
He identified with the poet John Milton (1608–1674) in leaving the safety of heaven and
returning to earth. Also at this time in life Blake was accused of uttering seditious (treasonous)
sentiments. He was later found not guilty but the incident affected much of Blake's final epic
(long lyric poem highlighting a single subject), Jerusalem (1804–1820).

Back in London, Blake worked hard at his poems, engraving, and painting, but he suffered
several reverses. He was the victim of fraud in connection with his designs for Blair's (1699–
1746) poem The Grave. He also received insulting reviews of that project and of an exhibition he
gave in 1809 to introduce his idea of decorating public buildings with portable frescoes
(paintings done on moist plaster using water-based paints). Blake had become a political
sympathizer with the American and French Revolutions. He composed The Four Zoas as a
mystical story predicting the future showing how evil is rooted in man's basic faculties—reason,
passion, instinct, and imagination.

The next decade was a sad and private period in Blake's life. He produced some significant work,
including his designs for Milton's poems L'Allegro and Il Penseroso (1816) and the writing of his
own poem The Everlasting Gospel (1818). He was also sometimes reduced to writing for others,
and the public did not purchase or read his divinely inspired predictions and visions. After 1818,
however, conditions improved. His last six years of life were spent at Fountain Court surrounded
by a group of admiring young artists. Blake did some of his best pictorial work: the illustrations
to the Book of Job and his unfinished Dante. In 1824 his health began to weaken, and he died
singing in London, England, on August 12, 1827.

4.5 Blake’s Legacy

Blake's history does not end with his death. In his own lifetime he was almost unknown except to
a few friends and faithful sponsors. He was even suspected of being mad. But interest in his
work grew during the middle of the nineteenth century, and since then very committed reviewers
have gradually shed light on Blake's beautiful, detailed, and difficult mythology. He has been
acclaimed as one who shares common ideals held by psychologists, writers (most notably William
Butler Yeats [1865–1939]), and students of religion, rock-and-roll musicians, and people studying
Oriental religion. The works of William Blake have been used by people rebelling against a wide
variety of issues, such as war, conformity (behaving in a certain way because it is accepted or
expected), and almost every kind of repression.

Lecture No. 5
5.1 Characteristics of William Blake’s Poetry

The romantics were very different from their predecessors of the enlightenment period. The
enlightenment society was very proper and rule filled while the romantics were essentially
ruleless people who wanted social and public reform. They were rebellious peoples who led the
French Revolution and thought people should have the freedom of thought, imagination, emotion
and spirit, freedom in general. When it came to their poetry, they incorporated these ideas into
their works. Unlike enlightenment period writers the romantics spoke commoners through their
works and therefore were concerned with content rather than poetic form. In their works they
were inspired mainly by God, their imagination, and untouched nature. They were visionaries
and used these inspirations to write poems expressing their philosophies, and ideals. William
Blake was one of these individuals. He exhibited romantic characteristics in both his lifestyle and
his poetry. He incorporated nature, Gods inspiration, social criticism, simplicity, his own
philosophies and glorification of common place into his works which made him a romantic poet.
Like many writers of the time, Blake was of the working class working as an engraver. Blake
followed a tyrannus lifestyle being a supporter of the French Revolution one of the greatest
movements of all time. He was also against the enlightenment periods destruction of nature, and
hardships endured by workers of the period. He rebelled against the ideas from the
enlightenment period that writers should not write for commoners, follow precise rules of form,
and only write about certain subjects. He believed all people were equal like others that
supported the French Revolution. The most famous poems of Blake are; “ The Tiger,” “The
Lamb,” “On Another Sorrow,” and “A Poison Tree”. These poems reveal more of his romantic
characteristics. Simplicity is common among Blake’s works as he directs his poetry to the
common person. All these poems contain simple language and simple poetic form. “On
Another’s Sorrow,” “The Tiger” and “A Poison Tree” are ballads and “The Lamb” uses a simple
rhyming couplet scheme. He used a “nursery rhyme” rhythm in these poems. These poetic forms
are very straightforward. He does this because he is concerned with the content of his works
rather than his poetic form like other romantic writers. William Blake also incorporates nature
into his writing In lines nine through sixteen of “ A Poison Tree” his use of nature is evident.
These lines say:

And it grew both day and night,

Till it bore an apple bright;

And my enemy held it shines,

And he knew that it was mine,

And into my garden stole when the night had veild the pole;

In the morning glad I see my enemy outstretched beneath the tree.

The scene is from the garden of An Eden under the tree of knowledge which is about as
untouched as nature can get. This untouched scene of nature is what the romantics considered
true nature. The use of untouched nature by Blake is therefore another one of his romantic
characteristics. He also uses animals, which is a form of nature, in his poetry. He uses a lamb in
“The Lamb,” a Tiger in “The Tiger,” and a bird in “On Another’s Sorrow.” One of his purposes
of putting nature and animals in his works is to exercise the reader’s imagination that the
romantics believed was important. They believed this because they believed that imagination
was an instrument of the morally good. Blake like other romantic writers was also inspired by
God which is shown through biblical allusions such as the one on the quotation from “ A Poison
Tree” about the story of the tree of knowledge. Another characteristic of Blake is that he uses
glorification of common place in many of his works. In “ The Lamb” he is just talking about a
child by a stream asking a lamb where he came from and, in “ The Tiger” he is just talking about
a tiger in a forest. Both poems take place in very common places which is the setting in many
romantic writers’ works.

5.2 Blake’s Philosophy

He believed in reverence for life which is why he did not like people of the enlightenment period
destroying nature. This is also why in “ A Poison Tree” he feels the one man has been poison
when he shows no compassion for his outstretched enemy. Another one of his philosophies is that
people must grow and change and therefore cannot remain innocent forever. He believes while we
are in the physical body that we are either innocent or experienced which is why he published two
separate sets of works; The Songs of Innocence and The Songs of Experience. Blake’s expression
of his philosophies is a romantic characteristic because many romantic writers had their own
philosophies that they incorporated into their works the way Blake did. Blake incorporates
nature, Gods inspiration, social criticism, simplicity, his own philosophy, and glorification of
common place into his works. He lived a characteristic romantic lifestyle. Because he exhibits
romantic qualities into both his works and lifestyle, common to most romantic poets, he is a
classic romantic poet.

5.3 A Poison Tree By William Blake

The poem A Poison Tree is one of the most wonderful and appreciated works of William Blake.
It was published in the year 1794 in his collection of Songs of Experience, which talks about
various emotions of humans. A Poison Tree forces you to look deep down inside your own self.
It makes you ask a question to yourself – you often forgive your friends; would you ever forgive
an enemy?

A Poison Tree is an important part of “ Songs of Experience”, which was a follow up to William
Blake’s Songs of Innocence, published in the year 1789. Both the books were later brought
together and published under the title of Songs of Innocence and Experience, Showing the Two
Contrary States of the Human Soul: The Author and Painter, W. Blake. Although Blake focused
on the hidden emotions of humans, his works did not get much of fame all his life.

A Poison Tree was individually published in the London University Magazine, in the year 1830.
Although the original title of the poem was Christian Forbearance, the name was later changed to
give a better idea of what the poem was all about. The poem has four sets of rhyming couplets.
Each stanza remains continued to the next, and gives the poem a hurried, almost furtive tone that
matches the secretive deeds carried out in the darkness of the poem’s content.
 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 waterd it in fears,

Night & 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 veild the pole;

In the morning glad I see;

My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

Lecture No. 6
6.1 A Poison Tree: Analysis

A Poison Tree by William Blake has four different stanzas. It starts as a first person poem, where
the poet is expressing his anger and hatred towards his enemy. The poem then takes a turn and
‘I’ is replaced with the word ‘It’, a pronoun to depict the feelings of the enemy. The poet has
used a metaphoric style. For instance, apple depicts his vengeance; tree depicts his loss of
patience, underneath which he kills his enemy, etc. Besides, Blake also makes use of end-rhyme
to really drive the message home. As in the first, second, third and fourth line of the poem’s first
part, you can see ‘friend’ and ‘end’, both at the end of their respective lines, rhyme, and likewise
does ‘foe’ and ‘grow’.

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.

The poet is not only expressing his anger towards his friend as well as his foe in this stanza, but
he has also depicted the difference between two types of anger. He states that when you are
angry with a friend, you convince your heart to forgive him. Even though you are hurt and you
know that he did injustice to you, you try your best to forget the past and end the feeling of
vengeance in your heart. On the other hand, when you are angry with an enemy, it takes ages for
you to calm your anger. Yet, the anger and the feeling of vengeance do not diminish, even with
time. In fact, the vengeance simply grows.

And I watered it in fears,

Night & morning with my tears:

And I sunned it with smiles,

And with soft deceitful wiles.

The poet is making a confession in this stanza of A Poison Tree – it is he, who is solely
responsible for the hatred that has grown in his heart for his enemy. It is he, who has increased
the vengeance in his heart. He has nurtured the hatred with his fears, spending hours together,
crying for the ill that has been caused to him by his enemy. He has also nurtured the hatred with
his sarcastic smiles, imagining ill and cursing his enemy to go through the same or worse
sufferings that he has been through.

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.

The poet states that it is because of his dwelling in the same hatred, that it has grown every day.
The hatred gave birth to an apple. The fruit signifies the evil that has taken birth in the heart of
the poet. He states that he has now come to a point from where he can’t turn back and forget
about his enemy, until he does something to soothe his vengeance. Finally, the day comes when
the poet’s enemy has met the evil fruit of vengeance that he has grown with his fears, tears and
sarcasm. The fruit has now turned into a weapon. When the enemy confronts with this anger, it is
time for the weapon to serve the purpose that it has been made for.

And into my garden stole.

When the night had veiled the pole;

In the morning glad I see,

My foe outstretched beneath the tree.

And, so the poet states, the very next morning, the purpose is served. When the poet wakes up
and glimpses in the garden, he sees something that relaxes his mind and calms his vengeance
forever. The darkness of the night acted like an invisible cloak for the poet. Now, it is a beautiful
morning. There he is; his enemy, dead under the tree of his hatred. He bit the poisoned apple of
his vengeance. He is murdered.

6.2 Imagery and Symbolism

Soft – When allied with ‘wiles', this implies a sense of luxurious pleasure taken by the speaker as
s/he seeks to deceive the enemy

Tree – As in The Human Abstract, the tree growing in A Poison Tree is an all-encompassing
growth in the mind which is dark, evil and deceitful, resulting in physical and spiritual death.

Apple – The reference to an ‘apple bright' alludes to the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in
the Garden of Eden. Though not specified in the Bible, this fruit was traditionally held to be an
apple. Adam and Eve were told by God not to eat it. However, Eve was tempted to eat the fruit
by the deceit of the devil, who was in the form of a serpent, so ate it along with Adam. As a
result, they fell from innocence, were cast out of Eden and experienced mortality.s

According to Blake, the Fall of Adam and Eve was not a fall into sin. It was a fall into a
perverted way of seeing God, the world and the self. It resulted in the development of a God in
humankind's image, who was vengeful and punitive. It caused people to see themselves as
separate, isolated selves who needed to be protected. This self must also ‘fight its own corner'
and put itself first. The tree in the poem grows in the garden of the mind and produces fruit of
nurtured anger, jealousy and cruelty.
6.3 Themes

6.3.1 Snares, Confinement

Images of confinement abound in the Songs. Blake the radical opposed the coercive strictures of
the ‘Establishment' – the state, organized religion etc. – which sought to quantify and rule all
aspects of human behavior. He also opposed conventional morality when it confined the natural
instincts of humanity. In A Poison Tree, Blake opposes the conventional idea that anger should
not be expressed, and illustrates the distorting effect this has on the human soul. The resulting
perverted outlook then creates snares for others.

However, he also saw that the human spirit was frequently the author of its own imprisonment,
creating its own ‘mind forg'd manacles'. It was because fallen humankind could no longer see
truly that Blake the visionary needed to illustrate what he perceived as the truth about the
creation and humanity's role within it.

6.3.2 The Effects of the Fall

Those who have fallen into divided selfhood see the creator only in terms of their own capacity
for jealousy, cruelty and possessiveness. They create an image of God who is a tyrannical ruler
and must be appeased. The fall of humankind affects human relationships because divided
selfhood sees itself at the center of its world as something to be protected and defended. Its
pleasures must be jealously defended and denied to others. One chief pleasure is exerting control
over others, which can often masquerade as showing love.