A Comparison Of Revenge In The Cask And A Poison Tree

Revenge can make humans execute reprehensible deeds. Those actions can later make the individual feel remorse, an emotion that is often found in people whom carry the weight of guilt. On the other hand, there also some people who find revenge to be satisfying and pleasing. In the short story, “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allen Poe, the narrator Montresor begins with telling the audience of a time when he sought revenge against his good friend Fortunato. In the poem, “A Poison Tree” by William Blake, the speaker too gets revenge on an enemy. In both “Cask” and “Tree”, Montresor and the speaker commit despicable deeds but only one feels guilty about it. Montresor displays plain evidence of remorse over his murderous actions, while the speaker in

At the start of the poem, the speaker presents two different scenarios: when the speaker is angry with his friend he tells his friend and is no longer angry, but when the speaker is angry with his enemy, he hides his feelings, allowing his anger to grow. The speaker’s anger grows into a metaphorical apple and when his enemy eats it the next day, he lay dead, “In the morning glad I see; My foe outstretched beneath the tree” (Blake 15-16). When the enemy eats the apple that he stole from the speaker’s tree, the next morning he lays dead below there. In this poem, the speaker’s anger turns into a seed which grows more and more every day until it is an apple, symbolizing the speaker’s hatred toward his enemy. The speaker did not directly kill his foe, but through his hatred and revengeful spirit, the antagonist lay dead. Seeing his dead enemy, the speaker is delighted and finds comfort in the fact that he is no longer alive. The speaker has no feelings of remorse and seems to be content with his actions. In the poem, the speaker demonstrates the opposite of remorse, when his own actions lead to his foe