The aspect of this poem that confuses me (and which hasn't been resolved by
any of the comments I've read) relates to the end of the poem. If (as so
many people seem to feel) the theme of the poem is that it's better to deal
with anger that to let it fester - why is the outcome of the supposedly
'negative' response (feeding and watering his anger and letting it fester)
presented as a postivie occurrence (In the morning glad I see My foe
stretch'd out beneath the tree)? If the moral of the story is: Don't let
anger grow - why isn't the poet the one who dies from the fruit of the
poison-tree he has nurtured within? To me, the moral outcome of the story
does not suggest that allowing the poison-tree to grow and bear fruit has
been a bad thing for the poet. It has enabled him to be revenged on his
enemy, albeit indirectly (because his enemy has stolen the fruit) rather
than directly by giving his enemy the fruit... Can someone enlighten me in
my confusion???