William Blake’s Poison Tree Tattoo Meaning

Image courtesy of Kristaps Solims @ Unsplash.com

Over the years as tattoos have become more popular, people have often turned to classic literature and poetry to find inspiration for their next tattoo.

And a poison tree tattoo is one of those designs that has its roots literally in classic literature.

So where did this tattoo design come from? What is a poison tree tattoo meaning?

Well that’s what we’re here to discuss.

Below we’re looking at the origins of the poison tree tattoo design, what it means and how you can create unique poison tree tattoo designs using artificial intelligence.

What Is A Poison Tree Tattoo?

The origin of these tattoos is linked to William Blake’s poem by the same name, “A Poison Tree.” There are many underlying ideas and themes in the poem which have made getting a poison tree tattoo into the trend that it is today.

Poison tree tattoos often show an old looking, decrepid or gnarled tree which might have bare branches or it might be depicted bearing rotten or poison fruit.

What Does A Poison Tree Tattoo Mean?

The meaning of a poison tree tattoo is up to the person getting the tattoo and how they interpret Blake’s poem.

Basically a poison tree tattoo is a metaphor and reminder that anger, hatred and other negative emotions shouldn’t be bottled up or kept inside. We’ll get to that below but the idea is that when you keep negative emotions inside they can grow into something bigger, uglier and worst than they were before.

That being said there are several literary themes that have made the poem and poison tree designs into the popular tattoo they are today.

Let’s take a look!

Image courtesy of Richard Fisher @ Pinterest.com

Suppressed Anger

The ultimate meaning of a poison tree tattoo is about the hidden dangers of the suppression of anger. The author of the poem says: “I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow.” So he’s literally saying that he held in and bottled up his anger, suppressed it and instead of it going away it only grew bigger.

So people will often get a poison tree tattoo when they feel like they’ve “grown their own” poison tree by holding in anger, hate or resentment throughout their lives.

Revenge

In the poem Blake speaks about having a foe he was angry with. He holds that anger in, waters his tree with it until it bears fruit. Then his foe sneaks in and steals that fruit. In the morning he finds his foe dead, outstretched underneath the tree.

I don’t think the idea here is that you should hold in your emotions until they poison your enemy. But it’s a theme that’s mentioned in the poem and a poison tree tattoo might mean that you’ve gotten revenge on your foe.

Having No Regret

In the poem the author doesn’t express any shame or regret for what he’s done. He knows he’s angry and he’s “watering” his tree with that anger. But when he finds his enemy dead under the tree he expresses no regret. In fact in the poem he says he was glad to see it.

So one could argue that a poison tree tattoo can be used to express having no regret for the things you’ve done in your life.

Corruption

Another common theme surrounding a poison tree tattoo is corruption. In the poem the tree is “poisoned” and “corrupted” by the authors negativity which “waters” it and allows it to grow into the ugly tree that it eventually becomes.

So a poison tree tattoo might mean that one feels like they’ve been corrupted by negative influences or forces.

That said there are a few other simple yet popular meanings attached to a poison tree tattoo including:

• – Personal growth
• – Personal strength
• – Self awareness
• – Hidden emotions
• – The consequences of one’s actions
• – Transformation
• – Healing
• – Overcoming hate

Image courtesy of Carilyn Frist @ Pinterest.com

Designing A Poison Tree Tattoo

If you take a quick look online you’ll find a ton of different poison tree tattoo ideas.

But most of them look relatively the same, showing a gnarled, corrupted tree. Because of their dark influence, poison tree tattoos are often done in black ink. If you choose a black ink tattoo for your design, adding a splash of bright red or another color that’s personal to you can be a good idea to make the design pop.

But there’s no rule that says you need to get a poison tree tattoo that looks like this.

Use our AI tattoo creator to explore different poison tree designs and styles. Add other design elements to your tattoo to make it one of a kind. Crows, skeletons and other dark or gritty design elements can be added to make it a design you won’t see anywhere else.

Poison Tree Tattoo Meaning FAQ

Now let’s take a look at a few commonly asked questions we hear from our readers about poison tree tattoos.

Are there any spiritual meanings related to the poison tree?

A poison tree can also be thought of as a metaphor for knowing the difference between good and evil. In some ways the narrator in Blake’s poem holds his wrath inside, which can be seen as a good thing. Instead of lashing out and striking down his foe, the author bottles up his feelings. But we can only surmise that by doing that he then “grows” a poison tree to kill his enemy which isn’t exactly a good thing.

Does a poison tree tattoo represent sadness?

In some ways yes. But mostly the tree represents anger and hatred and more negative emotions. As the reader you may feel sad for a person who has to bottle up their feelings like that. But a poison tree tattoo itself isn’t typically used to represent sadness.

Can I get a poison tree tattoo to express healing from trauma?

Yes, while there are many negative themes associated with the poison tree, healing is another common meaning often linked to poison tree tattoos. Although the author holds in his wrath, the test of time eventually takes care of his foe for him which allows him to move on and heal.